Remembering June Jones, Lions Assistant Coach in the Run-and-Shoot Era, 1953-2026

June Jones, born Feb. 19, 1953, who coached Lions quarterbacks and receivers in 1989 and 1990, has died at 73.

His death was confirmed Thursday by his Run & Shoot Certification organization. The University of Hawai'i also confirmed it. Per the Honolulu Star-Advertiser (via Yahoo Sports), Jones had entered hospice care about two weeks earlier. No official cause of death has been released.

Lions years

Jones joined Wayne Fontes' staff in Detroit after two seasons as the Houston Oilers' quarterbacks coach. In Detroit he worked alongside offensive coordinator Mouse Davis — his old Portland State coach — as the Lions ran the "Silver Stretch" run-and-shoot attack. The 1990 Lions media guide listed him as coaching quarterbacks and receivers in that system (via The Detroit News; Detroit Sports Nation).

After Detroit he became Atlanta's offensive coordinator, then Falcons head coach from 1994 to 1996, taking them to the playoffs in 1995. He later was San Diego's interim head coach in 1998.

Hawaii and beyond

His greatest coaching mark came at Hawaii (1999–2007), where he went 76–41 and remains the program's winningest coach. In 2007 the Warriors went 12–0 in the regular season behind Colt Brennan before losing the Sugar Bowl to Georgia. He later coached SMU, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the XFL's Houston Roughnecks.

Our Take: Two seasons on Fontes' staff do not make a Lions legend, but Jones helped put a real identity on Detroit's offense in the Barry Sanders years — four wideouts, option routes, and a pass-first attack that was ahead of its time. The NFL's modern open-passing DNA runs through minds like his. Rest easy, Coach.

Our thoughts are with the Jones family and everyone he coached.

Photo: Tech. Sgt. Kamaile Chan, U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: Yahoo Sports, The Detroit News, Detroit Sports Nation, ESPN, NBC Sports