HONOLULU — The back-and-forth between the University of Hawaii and its former football coach June Jones extended into a second day and continued to draw national headlines on Saturday.

After the two parties gave their own version of events Friday about Jones’ candidacy for the vacant head football coach position in the wake of Todd Graham’s resignation, UH called a noon virtual press conference to broadside Jones for his actions both in the past and over the last week during the school’s football coaching search.

Later Saturday, UH named former quarterback Timmy Chang the 25th head coach in program history.

UH levied criticism about Jones and his allies speaking to multiple media outlets throughout the week while other candidates did not.

“It’s about integrity, and Jones showed zero integrity throughout this process,” said UH spokesperson Dan Meisenzahl as part of a lengthy statement he read out to local media on a Zoom session.

“He’s June Jones. He needs no introductions,” Meisenzahl said. “Why not apply and respect the process? But instead of standing on his resume, he put as much pressure on UH as possible before we even met with him for the first time. It wasn’t an honest negotiation; it was about building enough pressure to force UH to capitulate.”

Meisenzahl called Jones a “de facto athletic director and chancellor” who wouldn’t take direction from superiors during his tenure as head coach in Manoa from 1999 to 2007. He said that Jones, this time around, wanted control of UH’s sports marketing department, with a potential impact of millions of dollars.

UH also called Jones’ character into question for fighting the university on a contract buyout after he left for Southern Methodist University in 2008; having a 2012 job offer from Arizona State withdrawn for “character concerns"; and leaving SMU in 2014 after losing the first two games of the season.

Jones, after coaching in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl on Saturday night, said there is no ill will between him and UH and wished first-time head coach Timmy Chang well. He did, however, take some issue with UH's press conference about him.

In something of a paradox, Meisenzahl opened and closed the session by calling Jones “the greatest coach in UH history” and saying “we have nothing but respect for Coach Jones.”

National outlets like ESPN and The Athletic have monitored each stage of the highly unusual saga.

Graham resigned amid controversy last Friday, and the head coaching job opening was posted that night. Jones, a popular candidate, applied and was interviewed virtually on Wednesday. He was then invited to an in-person second session with Athletic Director David Matlin on Friday to discuss terms of a job offer.

But Friday night, following a statement from UH that Jones had balked at a proposed succession plan, Jones, in a Twitter post, blasted UH for giving him conditions that “no coach in their right mind would accept," including hiring control of the coaching staff.

UH, in Saturday’s response, repeatedly pointed the finger at Jones for walking out on Friday’s offer negotiation meeting after 30 minutes and preventing constructive developments in negotiations.

UH President David Lassner and Matlin were not on Saturday’s call. Randolph Moore, the chair of the Board of Regents, was on the call, but he was not made available to answer questions in real time.

Meisenzahl defended Matlin’s seven-year track record and UH’s decision to offer Jones a shorter, two- or three-year contract on Friday that included a succession plan and a stipulation about staff hiring decisions.

“He’ll be the first to acknowledge that Graham was a mistake … but he’s willing to make the tough decision and more often than not they are the right decisions,” Meisenzahl said.

Matlin, who has not been available for comment throughout the hiring search, has largely defended the hiring of Graham based on the veteran coach’s resume and challenges he faced outside of his control.

Meisenzahl said the hiring search is ongoing but did not definitively say the door was shut on Jones when asked.

“Anything’s possible. We haven’t named a coach yet,” he said.

Other candidates for the job are former UH quarterback Timmy Chang and former UH offensive coordinator Brian Smith, both of whom have not been FBS head coaches. Meisenzahl said terms of a contract offer would vary depending on the candidate, including the requirement of a succession plan.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, a former UH football player and broadcaster, tore into UH in his own statement issued Saturday, and lent his support for Jones.

“(Jones) is uniquely qualified for this job,” Blangiardi said. “His coaching pedigree, and his (cachet) with this community, is exactly what is needed at this moment in time. There are many circumstances to consider, not the least of which is the uncertainty of our stadium, the number of players who have left in the transfer portal and the deficit that creates for this football team, the recruiting challenges we have locally and nationally right now, especially with the fact this story has gone national, not in the best eye. At the end of the day, you’ve got a bewildered statewide community – at one time avid UH football fans – that have, quite honestly, been very disillusioned. In my opinion, not putting June in this position – and understanding these circumstances – is a major failure of leadership on multiple levels.”

Meisenzahl was asked by Spectrum News what the next head coach will be up against given what has transpired with Jones over the last several days.

“I think whoever is hired will be up for the challenge," he replied. "I bet even Coach Jones will support whoever it is we hire because he bleeds green. And I hope our fans support whoever’s hired. Obviously there's going to be a lot of eyes on that situation." He added "as context, not excuses" that the coach cannot be fairly judged by what happens in the 2022 season, for reasons including recruiting difficulties and the loss of Aloha Stadium as a playable venue.

Jones is scheduled to coach in the 2022 Polynesian Bowl at Kamehameha on Saturday night.

Jones is the program’s all-time wins leader with a 76-41 record and guided UH to an unprecedented undefeated regular season in 2007. He also orchestrated a turnaround in his first season from 0-12 the year before to 9-4, including a bowl game win.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The original version of this story has been updated with comments from June Jones. (Jan. 23, 2022)