JJ Update (w/EVEN MORE UPDATES)

Note: The updates are now all in chronological order.

Don't get your hopes up too much yet, but perhaps some positive news coming out of Dallas. From the Advertiser:

The Dallas media expected an announcement on whether June Jones would become the next Southern Methodist University head football coach at 5 p.m. Central time (1 p.m. in Hawai'i).

But the projected time came and went, and now reporters have been told there will be a significant delay.

It is not know if that means there's a snag in talks or whether details need to be worked out.

From Stephen Tsai's blog, coach Jeff Reinebold believes. An excerpt:

"I believe he's coming back. I've gotta believe he's coming back. I believe when it comes down to it, his love for this place and the people and the players, that it's going to be so strong it will be too hard for him to say goodbye.

And Dave Reardon has spoken to a couple of sources who give the UH fans some hope.

I’ve spoken to two people in the past half hour who think June Jones might come back from Dallas without accepting a job offer from SMU.

Crazy optimism, or does Bobby Curran know something the rest of us don’t (he sometimes does)? “I have a suspicion it’s 50-50,” Curran said from the airport in San Jose, where he broadcast last night’s basketball game.

Hopefully there will be some good news to report soon. Keep checking the Tsai and Reardon blogs, as well as the message boards for more updates.

UPDATE: Reardon has an interesting development, but I don't know what it means.

We’re told June Jones is at dinner with SMU boosters right now. The most awkward situation might not be who gets to choose the wine, since word is Jones was supposed to sign on with the Mustangs an hour and a half ago, and this was going to be a celebration feast for the well-heeled Ponies.

Interesting.

Let's hope it's a "sorry we couldn't sign you, but let's get drunk anyway" dinner.

UPDATE 2: Errrgh, not sure what this update means either, but sounds a little less positive, from Kate Hairopoulos of a Dallas Morning News blog:

Here's what I'm told from a source with knowledge of SMU's hiring process:

June Jones has some kind of clause in his contract that requires Hawaii to release him before he can sign with SMU. While Jones and SMU have been told Hawaii will not stand in his way, he has not yet been released.

The source said Jones has been extremely well-received by the SMU trustees, search committee, etc., and that Jones wants to be here.

I'm still working on checking this out with Hawaii officials.

UPDATE 3: Hairopoulos has updated her post to include this paragraph:

However, Hawaii athletic department spokesman Derek Inouchi said the university will not substantiate that claim and will not comment because, as far as they know, talks are still ongoing.

UPDATE 4: Another update from the DMN blog:

The Honolulu Advertiser has been told that Hawaii president David McClain and atheltic director Herman Frazier are still having e-mail and telephone exchanges with Jones and Leigh Steinberg, Jones' agent.

That's encouraging.

UPDATE 5: Here's an AP article from Jaime Aron, who writes that June will decide tonight.

June Jones spent Sunday night trying to decide whether to accept an offer to coach SMU or return to Hawaii, where the governor is among those trying to keep him.

"It's been a wild day," agent Leigh Steinberg said. "I haven't seen anything like this before. It's emotionally wrenching for June."

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle called to see what she could do, and the president who oversees the entire University of Hawaii system called with an updated contract proposal. It's the second in three days, but the first made by the school's overall leader.

The higher-ups aren't the only ones doing their best to lure Jones back.

"Yesterday when he was in Hawaii, June was visited by dozens of alums and fans, urging him to stay," Steinberg said. "He's received dozens of phone calls and e-mails telling him what he's meant to not only the school but the whole state, with personal stories that were poignant, heart-warming. ... It's a pretty interesting story from that standpoint. The whole state is energized to keep June."

Steinberg said Jones was planning on making a decision Sunday night.

"These programs need to know," he said. "It's time."

More time to decide is probably good news for Hawaii. Let's hope for the best.

UPDATE 6: Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News has an update on her blog after speaking to June's agent Leigh Steinberg.

Here's the deal, according to Leigh Steinberg, June Jones' agent:

Jones is undecided. Hawaii has made a tremendous 11th hour push to try to sway Jones to stay, including a third, increased offer.

Things are quite fluid. Stay tuned. There may be a resolution tonight. Part of the problem is that Hawaii is four hours behind us.

The meeting with the search committee also went well.

Jones had dinner with a large group of SMU boosters tonight at Nick & Sam's. Many SMU folks had flown in from around the state.

"The SMU part of it wasn't hard at all, that was very positive," Steinberg said.

But will it be enough?

UPDATE 7: The best news yet! Looks like e-mails from UH fans have helped. From Stephen Tsai:

Agent Leigh Steinberg said June Jones, moved by e-mails and phone calls from Hawaii supporters, is having a change of heart and is reconsidering a decision to become Southern Methodist University's next football coach.

Steinberg said Jones arrived in Dallas today with the intent of joining SMU, but those plans have been put on hold.

Steinberg also said the UH president David McClain has taken over negotiations for UH. McClain, according to Steinberg, has addressed many of Jones' concerns about improving the UH athletic facilities.

Steinberg said he expects Jones to make a decision by early tomorrow.

Right on.

UPDATE 8: Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News has an article about the day's events and where things stand as of now (12:16 CST).

Considering SMU football's struggles during the last 20 years, perhaps the wild drama that unfolded Sunday in the school's efforts to hire June Jones as its new football coach shouldn't be surprising.

As of late Sunday night, Jones was still deciding between taking the SMU job and returning to Hawaii, according to agent Leigh Steinberg.

But on Sunday, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle called to intervene. David McClain, the president of the University of Hawaii system, called with a third, "amplified" offer, Steinberg said.

E-mails and calls continued to pour in from Hawaii's passionate fans and friends of Jones, who has coached the Warriors for nine seasons and has earned icon status on the islands for transforming the program.

"It's a difficult time, even while I would say we had an absolutely first-class visit at SMU," Steinberg said.

Dave Reardon has a new post with a quote from Leigh Steinberg about how things turned in UH's favor.

“Frankly, I think that June came here and his lean and intention was to go ahead and take the new post. I think it was headed in that direction. I think all of the communications (from Hawaii) in the last couple of days has made an impact and caused pause.”

Once again, great jobs by the fans who wrote to June.