Dallas ? Staying at Hawaii would have been the easy choice for June Jones. It was the challenge of rebuilding a tattered football program that led him to take the coaching job at Southern Methodist, which stumbled to a 1-11 record this season.
Jones replaces Phil Bennett, who was dismissed with four games left in the season.
School officials hope Jones can bring some of Hawaii’s run-and-shoot magic, which produced 43 points per game, an undefeated regular season and a BCS bowl berth this year. They were also impressed by Jones’ ability to resuscitate Hawaii, which went 0-12 before he arrived in 1999 and won nine games.
Leigh Steinberg, Jones’ agent, said the coach accepted a five-year deal worth about $2 million per year. He said Hawaii offered about $1.6 million per year.
