The last few weeks have been very messy for the University of Hawaii Football program!
There was a lot of scrutiny over coach Todd Graham's abusive tactics that the players resorted to going on social media to express their grievances. The era of "what happens in the locker room stays there" is permanently over in this day & age.
It got to the point where even the team's most high-profile player, QB Chevan Cordiero, who grew up dreaming of playing for UH, decided to transfer to another school. It's one thing for a benchwarmer who grew up thousands of miles away to transfer. It takes some serious problems for a locally raised starting QB to transfer. It goes far beyond a coach yelling "run faster" or "what are you doing?"
Because UH didn't want to go buy out the coach's contract, they decided to give Graham a 2nd chance on the conditions that he follow some guidelines. There were even guidelines for players in addressing problems.
I blogged on all those issues in this post from last month https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2021/12/coaches-and-changing-times.html
However, since then, more allegations about Todd Graham have been leaked to the press. And the Hawaii state legislature got involved in there were hearings on this issue. In the hearings, more players and even their parents expressed their grievances. One of the legislators even promised to figure out how to find the money to buy out Graham's contract.
With all this public scrutiny, Todd Graham decided to resign. That now means that the university isn't obligated to pay out the rest of his contract.
Some social media users claimed that the players are soft for not taking Graham's abuse. But what is really soft is Todd Graham quitting even after being given a 2nd chance because he couldn't take the media scrutiny. Nevermind that the media and the legislators were nicer to Graham than he was to the players.
Graham's previous college coaching jobs were either in places that also had NFL teams (ie Pittsburgh, Arizona State) or had higher-profile colleges in the same state (ie Univesity of Tulsa being overshadowed by University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State). He could hide under the radar there.
Hawaii has no NFL teams. UH is the only college there that has a football team. UH football is front-page news. You can't coach there if you want anonymity. Plus, the university is a state institution, so the legislature WILL get involved if there's a problem. After all, they are the guardians of taxpayer's money.
Also, Hawaii people gossip. Things don't stay secret for very long. This was true before social media, and it's now magnified by social media.
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When one problem ends, another begins.
The university needed to find a new coach before the next recruit signing day on February 2.
Back in 2007, the UH men's basketball team lost out on some potential players because they didn't announce who was going to be the new coach (Bob Nash) until after signing day started. UH didn't want to make the same mistake again.
One popular choice to replace Graham was June Jones, who was the head coach back in 1999-2007. He turned around a losing program that went 0-12 in 1998 and made them bowl game winners the following year. He recruited a mix of local stars and under-recruited talent from the continent and Samoa and made them winners. Some even went on to play in the NFL.
His players loved him. Many even worked with him as assistant coaches when he coached other teams after he left UH.
His former UH players are old enough to write a tell-all book or blog post without worrying about serious repercussions from him. But they haven't because he had their respect.
And one player who was coached by both June Jones and Todd Graham in separate occasions noted their totally different approaches.
Dave Reardon, “June Jones brings immediate credibility; hire him ASAP,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, January 19, 2022, https://www.staradvertiser.com/2022/01/19/sports/dave-reardon-june-jones-brings-immediate-credibility-hire-him-asap/.
His name is Leonard Lee. If it rings a bell, it’s either because there must be at least 10 people on this island with that name, or you heard and saw this Leonard Lee testify at the state Senate information briefing on Jan. 7.
Lee was a walk-on defensive back who transferred to UH in 2019 after two years at Pima Community College in Arizona. He was on the scout team when the Warriors went 10-5 in Nick Rolovich’s last season, helping guys like Cedric Byrd and JoJo Ward prepare for each week’s game. He said he felt his efforts were appreciated.
Not so much in ’20 and ’21, though, with Graham as the coach.
“The worst guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Lee said during the Senate briefing.
What was it like being coached by Jones?
“Not a bit of arrogance,” Lee said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “Treated everyone with respect and taught us all a lot.”
Where is this coming from? How the heck was Lee mentored by Jones, who hasn’t been on a college coaching staff since 2014?
It wasn’t a clinic or anything like that. Jones was actually Lee’s position coach at Kapolei High School in 2016.
It was also noted by many that June Jones had an easier time adjusting to Hawaii's culture than Todd Graham. Both are European-Americans raised in the continental US. Jones first came to Hawaii on a high school field trip, played for UH, and was an assistant coach at UH back in 1983. He had a love for the Polynesian culture. Whereas Todd Graham had no Hawaii ties when he was hired here. This was a recipe for disaster just like it was for Fred von Appen back in 1996-1998.
Lee Cataluna had this to say about adjusting to Hawaii's culture
Lee Cataluna, “Todd Graham's Unforgivable Sin? He Didn't Understand Our Culture,” Honolulu Civil Bear, January 19, 2022, https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/01/lee-cataluna-todd-grahams-unforgivable-sin-he-didnt-understand-our-culture/.
This emphasis on cultural understanding actually isn’t squishy or emotional. It’s practical. It’s about fit and the ability to adapt, which are basic business, leadership and survival requirements. If what you’re doing doesn’t work in the place you’re doing it, either change tactics or move somewhere else.
To understand and respect the culture of any place (not just intense, idiosyncratic Hawaii) is to be open to learning, to be observant and respectful, to have the humility to ask questions rather than assume you know everything.
There’s something about these islands that brings out the best and the worst in people in this regard. Hawaii is not a place that can be “just like home” except with better weather. Some people make excellent world travelers, some should just stay where they’re comfortable.
Some people think "no need to worry about cultural fit, they wouldn't reject Nick Saban". But Nick Saban didn't succeed everywhere, just ask the Miami Dolphins. And talking about NFL teams in Florida, Jacksonville Jaguars hired Urban Meyer who seemed to be successful everywhere he went. Yet, he didn't even last a whole season with the Jaguars.
Some people aren't meant to be successful everywhere. University of Hawaii's job is to hire somebody who would be successful in Hawaii.
We're thousands of miles away from the nearest landmass. This isn't like hiring somebody from Alabama to work in Mississippi. This isn't like hiring somebody from New Jersey to work in New York.
Hiring an outsider can work for an assistant. They are rookies. They can fly under the radar. They can be corrected with some guidance.
A leader is held to a higher standard than an assistant. Cultural fit matters a lot more for a leader than an assistant.
June Jones had experience with Hawaii's culture, Todd Graham didn't.
However, June Jones wasn't above offending some people of Hawaii when it comes to traditions.
UH teams have been known as the Rainbows since 1923. The rainbow was seen as a good luck sign since the game against Oregon State that year. The UH rainbow symbol was treasured by many of the alumni.
However, June Jones saw the rainbow as a problem. The rainbow was also known as a symbol for the gay liberation movement, and Jones felt that association hurt UH when it comes to recruiting and marketing.
After his 1st season at UH, June Jones nudged the athletic department to remove the rainbow nickname and symbol. He wanted the team to just be known as Warriors, and the university replaced the rainbow logo with a tiki-style symbol for H.
The H-tiki symbol
While many people loved the new symbol (I actually liked it, just like I liked the rainbow symbol) a lot of old-time UH fans have never forgiven him for removing the rainbow name and symbol. TV news anchor Joe Moore publicly criticized Jones over the issue.
Then in 2013, with June Jones long gone from the university, the university brought the Rainbow nickname back to all of the teams and sells merchandise with both the rainbow and the H-tiki symbols. The teams still mostly use the H-tiki symbol on the uniforms though they occasionally wear the rainbow jerseys for Throwback Nights.
Though it was up to me, we would combine both the rainbow symbol and the H-tiki symbol like this one that I found on social media back in 2013.
(note: I blogged more about the UH symbols in the following blog posts back in 2013
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/02/uh-sports-nicknames.html
https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-rainbows-are-back.html
Fast forward to this year. June Jones is negotiating to be the UH head football coach again. Jones wanted full control of the marketing and wanted to eliminate the rainbow name again. That doesn't fly in 2022.
Jones wanted to hire assistant coaches without required approval from the UH administration. Nevermind that NOBODY at UH (and most institutions) gets hired without the official approval of someone 2-3 levels higher on the food chain.
Jones noted that he was offered a 2-year contract (which was later upgraded to a 3-year contract) and noted that hurts recruiting. Most coaching contracts are for 5 years.
June Jones left the negotiations and went on social media to blast the offer of 2-3 year contract.
What June Jones didn't expect was the UH administration spokesperson Dan Meisenzahl would launch an aggressive response to Jones, mentioning Jones alienated people in the past and that his demands for total control over marketing and hiring were unrealistic. Meisenzahl also implied that Jones supported social media campaigns doxing the contact information of UH administration officials.
view it here
https://www.facebook.com/HawaiiNewsNow/posts/10159937748090479
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=670922867393117
same speech plus Q&A with journalists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuuS59FcVO8
This was my reaction that I wrote on Facebook after I first saw the video of Meisenzahl's speech
June Jones never saw it coming, he never expected the UH admin to hit back agressively. June Jones thought the UH admin would be one of those "be the bigger person" pansies! Not this time! Listening to this video speech by UH spokesperson Dan Meisenzahl gives me the same feeling like listening to "Hit Em Up" or "No Vaseline" or "The Ripper Stikes Back" for the first time (minus the profanities and death threats, of course).
And I knew the issue of the "Rainbows" nickname would come up! If I was the UH Athletics Director, I would tell June Jones straight up, "Rainbow is part of our name, take it or leave it". As for the assisants, Dan is right, at every organization, each hire requires approval of 2-3 people higher in the food chain.Don't get me wrong, June Jones was the best person for the job back in 1999 and the early 2000s. Watching the games at the time were among the best memories of my life. But the world has moved on! Time to support Timmy Chang as the new coach.
And yes it was only a few hours between Meisenzahl's video speech and the announcement that Timmy Chang was hired to be the new head football coach for UH.
Chang was a former UH QB (2000-2004) under June Jones.
He was a high school all-star at Saint Louis School (the all-boys Catholic school in Honolulu, not to be confused with the city in Missouri with the famous arch) and there was tremendous pressure put on him when he joined the UH team. Chang had some growing pains in which he battled injuries and interceptions, but also ended his career with a bowl game victory!
Chang spent some time in the pros, mostly within the Canadian Football League. He then was an assistant under June Jones when they coached at SMU (Southern Methodist University). Chang since worked as an assistant coach at other colleges, mostly recently at the University of Nevada- Reno.
This will be Chang's first time as a head football coach, so there will be some growing pains. The good news is that Chang is known to be a humble person who avoids the drama. He understands the culture because he grew up in it. He will likely be able to gather a group of assistants that would be a great fit for the program.
I think Timmy Chang was a great hire.
Let's all pray that he will prove us right and bring us back to the big time.
