Former UH football coach Jones sees success with CFL team

Hamilton — the city in Ontario, Canada, not the musical — is experiencing balmy weather this month.

Hamilton, the Canadian Football League team, also is enjoying pleasant conditions in what is developing into a feel-good September.

After an 0-8 start, the Tiger-Cats have won two in a row under June Jones, a former Hawaii football coach. Jones was hired as Hamilton’s offensive coordinator in early August and promoted to head coach three weeks later. With a new starting quarterback and renewed enthusiasm, Jones now insists the Tiger-Cats have “a very good chance to make the playoffs.” No CFL playoff team had ever started the season 0-8.

It has been a remarkable turn of events for Jones, who began the summer raising money for Saint Louis School as the athletic director in charge of development. He has retained that title, checking in daily with school officials. Ryan Blangiardi handles the day-to-day administrative work.

But after the Tiger-Cats lost their first five games, Jones was asked to help the offense. Three losses later, Kent Austin decided to relinquish his coaching job to focus on general manager duties, opening the way for Jones’ promotion to head coach. “Absolutely not,” Jones said when asked if he anticipated in early August he would end up as head coach. But he also was comfortable accepting a rebuilding project. “I do what I do, brother,” he said.

Jones’ first move was to name Jeremiah Masoli as the No. 1 quarterback. Masoli, who played for Saint Louis and starred for Oregon and Mississippi, was a potential UH recruit as a graduate transfer in 2011.

“When you’re losing, either the quarterback or the head coach gets fired,” Jones said. “When I got the job, I changed quarterbacks. I think quarterback Zach Collaros … (is) a hell of a player. (Now) I’ve got two (quarterbacks) who can play. It was hard (to make the change). But just like I told Zach: ‘Here’s the deal. I’m the head coach because we’re 0-8. I want to make the change at quarterback because we’re 0-8. It’s no reflection on you. It’s the way it is.’ Quarterbacks and coaches, that (change) happens when you’re losing.”

Jones employs the same run-and-shoot base concepts that he used when he was head coach at UH, Southern Methodist and with the Atlanta Falcons. He also has sought input from players and coaches in matching his schemes to the CFL rules of a 12th player, wider field, pre-snap running starts, and one fewer down.

“It’s an awesome game,” Jones said of CFL rules. “You have to execute up here. You don’t get that extra down. If you throw incomplete on first down at UH, you get another chance. Here, you have to execute every down.”

The modest winning streak, for now, is a “confirmation of validity,” Jones said, adding the Tiger-Cats are doing “things I believe in.”

But one move imploded. In late August, Hamilton announced that former Baylor head coach Art Briles was hired as an offensive assistant coach. Ten hours later, the Tiger-Cats and the CFL announced in a joint statement Briles would not be joining the team. The rescission was based largely on the backlash over Briles, who was fired at Baylor in the aftermath of a sexual assault scandal at the Waco, Texas, campus. According to published reports, an outside investigation concluded there were “specific failings” within the football program and athletic department leadership to take action to reports of sexual misconduct by multiple players. Briles filed — and then dropped — a lawsuit against Baylor.

Jones confirmed Briles “was my hire.” Jones said he has known Briles for 40 years.

“Art Briles is one of the best human beings that I’ve ever met in my life,” Jones said. “And he’s a very good football coach. He’s no different from any other player I’ve tried to help. I tried to help him.”

Jones said he is not looking past this Friday’s game against Saskatchewan, much less next season. “In any job, if you win, you have the opportunity to coach,” Jones said. “We’ll see what happens.”