June Jones has forever changed his image at SMU

[2ndandlong]

I think JJ handled himself in an inappropriate manner.

you make it sound like he went all PeeWee Herman on himself.

[RGV Pony]

that said, how beholden must SMU be to JJ for those three bowls? A Don Juan who rescues a street tramp from a life of misery and dotes on her and gives her riches is not entitled to beat her just because of what he saved her from.

That's a heck of an anology. What constitutes "beating on" SMU by Jones? The fact that he looked at a job opening? This ain't a destination job on the hilltop you know.

I've already stated my position that the timing of JJ's actions w/ ASU, if they were only posturing (I dont happen to think they are), was questionable at best.

Strike 'beat' and fill in the blank with whatever verb you want. There's no rules of civil procedure to follow here, so I'm not particularly concerned about what analogy floats everyone's boat or what's admissible or not.

You're on rivals arent you?

[jtstang]

No, I won't pay to read a bunch of nonsense when I can read it here for free. And of course you can use whatever analogy you want to, whether it floats my boat or not. I just don't see what's so bad about looking at other jobs, when you are working for a university whose administration and alumni don't care about athletics. Timing sucks, I agree, but he had no control over when they came knocking.

Look, if the guys who pay him want him gone, so be it. I'm not going to be sore at the guy either way, he's done to much to bring this program back to have the 1500 turn on him.

[NickSMU17]

No need to get so angry...

You cant get the info over there on here...

[jtstang]

Not angry, I think RGV mistook the tome of my prior post.

[Topper]

This thread is ridiculous. With very few exceptions, anyone on this board would leave their current job for a better one if given the opportunity. I don't have an agent handling my career, but if I did I would expect him to be on the lookout for better opportunities. Many shortsighted people on this board, a minority fortunately, would fire Jones in a heartbeat because the team lost 5 games this year. Where is your loyalty to him? This is a business and it cuts both ways. Colleges are quick to pull the trigger on head coaches and set unrealistic expectations all the time. Why should any head coach at any college not look at a better offer? Give it a rest. All of these anti-Jones tirades are a huge bore.

[NickSMU17]

Topper = no rivals...

[Mitch McConnell]

This thread is ridiculous. With very few exceptions, anyone on this board would leave their current job for a better one if given the opportunity. I don't have an agent handling my career, but if I did I would expect him to be on the lookout for better opportunities. Many shortsighted people on this board, a minority fortunately, would fire Jones in a heartbeat because the team lost 5 games this year. Where is your loyalty to him? This is a business and it cuts both ways. Colleges are quick to pull the trigger on head coaches and set unrealistic expectations all the time. Why should any head coach at any college not look at a better offer? Give it a rest. All of these anti-Jones tirades are a huge bore.

Well, then start your own thread and say all the good Jones has done here.

But then, that would be the real bore.

[Topper]

This thread is ridiculous. With very few exceptions, anyone on this board would leave their current job for a better one if given the opportunity. I don't have an agent handling my career, but if I did I would expect him to be on the lookout for better opportunities. Many shortsighted people on this board, a minority fortunately, would fire Jones in a heartbeat because the team lost 5 games this year. Where is your loyalty to him? This is a business and it cuts both ways. Colleges are quick to pull the trigger on head coaches and set unrealistic expectations all the time. Why should any head coach at any college not look at a better offer? Give it a rest. All of these anti-Jones tirades are a huge bore.

Well, then start your own thread and say all the good Jones has done here.

But then, that would be the real bore.

I don't need to. Anyone with any sense can see the difference between SMU 2012 and SMU 1987-2007.

[RyanSMU98]

[quote=Topper]With very few exceptions, anyone on this board would leave their current job for a better one if given the opportunity.[/quote]

This is true, to a point. As a consultant I am always looking for the next gig as one draws to a close: one that is a better fit, better rate, etc. But, in doing so I NEVER leave a current customer twisting in the wind as it is bad for business and bad for my reputation. You don't burn bridges unless you know you have no intention of ever going back. Are coaches always looking at the next move? Of course, if they intend to stay employed. Can one use that leverage to gain concessions? Usually, if played right. The concern I have in this one case was not that Jones was looking or that ASU was interested, but that the whole thing (had it played out to its conclusion and he left) would have carpet bombed his bridges at SMU beyond all hope of repair. Why? Best recruiting class arguably since Ron Meyer: most likely gone. Best recruiter we have had in a long time in Klemm: gone. List of potential candidates to pick up those pieces immediately and make something happen: dwindling awfully fast. BCS conference move that was already slow moving and hesitant: gone due to lack of stability. In short, he would have flipped SMU the bird and left the next guy with a slightly better position than he inherited, but nowhere near the point to where anyone can step in here and keep the momentum going. We would be rebuilding, AGAIN, and I for one want out of the construction business. Should coaches being looking to advance their careers like everyone else, of course. But there is a professional way of doing it, and this little stunt met none of those criteria for me.

[Topper]

[quote=Topper]With very few exceptions, anyone on this board would leave their current job for a better one if given the opportunity.

This is true, to a point. As a consultant I am always looking for the next gig as one draws to a close: one that is a better fit, better rate, etc. But, in doing so I NEVER leave a current customer twisting in the wind as it is bad for business and bad for my reputation. You don't burn bridges unless you know you have no intention of ever going back. Are coaches always looking at the next move? Of course, if they intend to stay employed. Can one use that leverage to gain concessions? Usually, if played right. The concern I have in this one case was not that Jones was looking or that ASU was interested, but that the whole thing (had it played out to its conclusion and he left) would have carpet bombed his bridges at SMU beyond all hope of repair. Why? Best recruiting class arguably since Ron Meyer: most likely gone. Best recruiter we have had in a long time in Klemm: gone. List of potential candidates to pick up those pieces immediately and make something happen: dwindling awfully fast. BCS conference move that was already slow moving and hesitant: gone due to lack of stability. In short, he would have flipped SMU the bird and left the next guy with a slightly better position than he inherited, but nowhere near the point to where anyone can step in here and keep the momentum going. We would be rebuilding, AGAIN, and I for one want out of the construction business. Should coaches being looking to advance their careers like everyone else, of course. But there is a professional way of doing it, and this little stunt met none of those criteria for me.[/quote]

I have been around SMU a long time. We stole Dave Smith, Ron Meyer, Bobby Collins and June Jones away from schools that badly wanted them to stay and had plenty of fans upset when they left. The situation you describe is true whenever a good coach leaves a school behind to go on to greener pastures. Unfortunate, but true. A stunt? Hardly. Its a fact of life that we at SMU have trouble comprehending because we haven't had a coach that was a target of another team in 30 years. To describe JJ as having "flipped the bird" is a little dramatic.

[NickSMU17]

Topper = doesnt know whole story...

[Mitch McConnell]

At SMU, Jones' deity status has taken a hit whether the go-along to get-along crowd cares to admit it or not. Deep down, every SMU fan who truly pays attention to this program will not look at Jones in the same way. They just won't.

The trust developed by he and his staff with this fanbase will be lacking and more and more people will either privately or even publicly question everything he is doing. One would suspect that what leverage Jones carried with him in these four years is no longer at his disposal.

-----

Just a reminder of the temperature now being said by some on this board in light of Jones' staying.

He now has a perception problem.

[Mitch McConnell]

And look for season ticket sales to be flat -- especially if there no marketing plan.

And look for attendance at the weekly luncheons to drop off.

He better win and he better win big. He created this problem. He needs to step it up.

[texasmustang10]

The official spin that June puts on this is that he only met with ASU to play up his desirability in order to draw attention to SMU's program and show recruits that he is a quality coach committed to building this program, and isn't going to bolt when big name teams come calling. If taking a job at the best program possible was ever his objective, he would have stayed at Hawaii and eventually leveraged that into a Pac-12 gig, as opposed to walking into the worst football program in the nation. His legacy is at stake here, and he is legitimately committed to building a top-25 program.