Jones leaving Hawaii for rebuilding job at SMU
The once-proud program of Doak Walker, Don Meredith and Eric Dickerson went 0-8 in Conference USA this season. The struggles were compounded by the long, slow hunt for a coach.
SMU became the first major college to fire its coach this season when it dumped Bennett after the Mustangs were eliminated from bowl contention. Yet it took 10 weeks to find a replacement. SMU got permission to talk to Jones on Dec. 24.
At SMU, Jones will get more money, a bigger budget and better facilities. He'll also have a larger talent pool to recruit. The trade-off is that he'll also have a lot more local competition. His success at Hawaii and his NFL experience certainly should help.
Jones becomes the fifth coach to lead SMU since it came off the death penalty in 1989. The Mustangs are 58-153-3 in that span, with only one winning season. The death penalty was levied in 1987 because of rampant recruiting violations. The school voluntarily sat out in '88.
Bennett went 18-52 over six seasons, matching the longest tenure and the most wins by any coach since the death penalty. SMU was 6-6 in 2006, which let Bennett keep his job and sparked hope for '07 that never materialized.
He broke into coaching at Hawaii in 1983, then went to the USFL and CFL. He joined the NFL in Houston in 1987, then went to Detroit and Atlanta. He became coach of the Falcons from 1994-96, then joined San Diego as an assistant in 1998. He became the interim coach midway through that season, then left for Hawaii.
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