Everyone that knows June Jones either loves or respect the veteran college and NFL head coach.
His relationships he made in the NFL have been evident on the Hilltop this fall, Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, Darryl Johnston and Terrell Owens are just a few of the NFL stars that have made the stop by the SMU campus to visit with their old friend.
“The relationships he made over the years coaching are amazing,” Randy Ross, Director of Football Operations at SMU said. “Everyone has a high respect for him as a person and a coach. He is the type coach everyone loves to play for.”
PonyStampede.com was able to do earlier interviews with Sanders and Aikman, this past Saturday Owens was on hand to roam the sidelines on both sides of the field. Owens’ cousin Stephen Black from Birmingham Alabama is a senior at Memphis. Sanders and Aikman had nothing but great things to say about Jones and his arrival to Dallas.
“It was great to see Terrell out there Saturday,” Ross said. “He is just one of many visitors we get on a daily basis because of June and this coaching staff. They have a lot of connections on the NFL level. It’s great for our players to see how much respect all the NFL guys have for June.”
Another longtime NFL veteran on the coaching staff is special team’s coordinator Frank Gansz, who has also developed a lot of friendships and relationships with a lot of his former players.
Offensive line coach Dennis McKnight had a successful career as an offensive lineman for two different teams.
Defensive line coach Bert Hill spent many years as the strength and conditioning coach at the Colts.
Wide receiver coach Jeff Reinebold coached in NFL Europe as a head coach.
“June put out the word when he first got here that all his former players and any NFL player was always welcomed on our campus,” Ross said. “It’s always great to see these guys come back to visit.”
Below are the links of previous audio interviews with Sanders and Aikman.
Troy Aikman Audio Listen to Audio
Deion Sanders Audio Listen to Audio