ASU breaks off talks with Southern Methodist's June Jones

[JonLP24]

Ten days after firing football coach Dennis Erickson, ASU's search for a replacement continues.

ASU broke off talks with Southern Methodist University coach June Jones late Wednesday afternoon, a final unexpected turn in a dizzying day of false reports from national and local media outlets saying the deal was done.

Where ASU's search goes from here isn't clear, but Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich, Tennessee defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and San Francisco 49ers linebackers coach Jim Leavitt, former head coach at South Florida, could be possibilities. It's unknown if Houston coach Kevin Sumlin -- high on ASU's list of candidates from the start -- remains in the picture.

What seems likely is that ASU wanted to take a step back and re-evaluate its position in regards to Jones. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the two sides were close to finalizing a deal when ASU President Michael Crow decided to end the discussion.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/2011/12/07/20111207asu-football-talks-june-jones-break-down.html#ixzz1fwYecGLR

This has been odd to me as there were several sources saying a deal is done. I'm not high on Jones myself, don't want a coach that will throw it 40-50 times a game. I like balance.

[Redbear]

1. Sounds pretty ugly

http://arizonasports.com/135/1476624/June-Jones-didnt-deserve-this-treatment

[KamaAina]

2. This is the man who made Hawai'i drop "Rainbow" from "Rainbow Warriors"

because he, June Jones, thought it wasn't manly enough. :rofl:

Guess ASU didn't want to be just the "Devils". :-)