Talks between the Arizona State Sun Devils and SMU Mustangs coach June Jones have broken down and Jones is apparently no longer a sure thing to be the new ASU head football coach, according to the Arizona Republic.
The big holdup seems to have come from ASU boosters, who apparently feel as though Jones is Dennis Erickson 2.0. Arizona State boosters likely want to trend young and go with a newer face to the college football coaching game instead of hiring older, more established candidates on the downside of their career.
And so, it's back to the drawing board for the Sun Devils, who can't waste too much time before signing day looms any closer. As for Jones, it's going to make a very awkward discussion with his bosses at SMU, especially now that the Mustangs are about to join the Big East.
And as SB Nation Arizona points out, it looks like a big blunder by the ASU athletic director Lisa Love.
That the boosters were so firmly against this move seems to reflect a lack of communication between the athletic department and the ASU community, and could spell the beginning of the end for her.
For more on the Sun Devils, check out Arizona State blog House Of Sparky. Here's our 2011 Coaching Carousel Tracker.