The Texas Southern men’s basketball program has been dealt a blow after word broke Tuesday morning that veteran coach Johnny Jones resigned to take an assistant coaching role at his alma mater, LSU.
In an exclusive interview with the Defender, Jones said recently hired LSU coach Will Wade officially offered him the job Monday night. Jones was in his new LSU office on Tuesday, the day the transfer portal opened.
The DeRidder, Louisiana native, of course, played for LSU, was an assistant coach under Dale Brown, and then served as the head coach of the Tigers 2012 to 2017. It has been expected since last week that Jones would move on to LSU, but it took days to finalize the deal.
“Just an opportunity to return home to a place that I’ve been for 22 years, a campus I’ve been to for 22 years as a player, assistant coach, and head coach,” Jones said. “Looking at the landscape and the way that things are. A chance to compete and hopefully take care of some unfinished business I have here from a player’s standpoint, assistant coaches’ standpoint. The goal is to try to win a national championship.
“There is an opportunity and a window here to try to accomplish that goal. I’m fortunate enough to be a part of that.”
Still, Jones said it was a difficult decision to leave a program he had spent the last eight years building, and to leave behind so many great relationships with the players he has coached, his coaching staff, the administrators, and the community in general.
“It was a very, very tough decision because along the way, just the relationships that were built. Not only on campus with the administrators and the student-athletes, the coaches and everyone involved from the president down, but the community that I certainly came to be so close with,” said Jones, who is 65. “Having the chance to be there for eight years and to coach my own son (John Jones, Jr.), to be part of championships, and the other coaches that were obviously involved.
“It was an extremely tough decision and really an emotional one for me. I thought the people there poured a lot into me, trusted me with a lot, and gave me unwavering support. It wasn’t an easy decision. It was extremely tough.”
Now comes a tough situation for TSU, as it seeks to replace a successful head coach amid uncertainty over the athletic department’s leadership. The school parted ways with longtime athletic director Kevin Granger in February because of sexual assault charges that were waged against him by a staffer.
Dr. Paula Jackson was brought in last fall as the interim athletic director, but she hasn’t been named the permanent athletic director at this point. It’s uncertain if TSU President James Crawford will spearhead the search for the new coach or if Jackson will lead the charge.
The school confirmed Wednesday that longtime assistant Shyrone Chatman will serve as the interim head coach, and a national search for Jones’ replacement will begin immediately.
“It was a pleasure working with Johnny Jones during this brief period,” Jackson said in released statement. “As fellow Louisiana natives, we bonded quickly, and I truly appreciate the leadership he brought to our men’s basketball program—both on the court and in the classroom. I valued his professionalism and commitment to our student-athletes, and I wish him continued success in his next chapter.”
“Coach Johnny Jones has left a lasting mark on Texas Southern University through his leadership, mentorship, and commitment to excellence,” Crawford said. “His influence extended beyond basketball, helping to shape young men into leaders prepared for success beyond their collegiate careers. We wish him all the best as he returns to his alma mater and continues to inspire the next generation of student-athletes.”
Jones said he wasn’t given any indication of which way TSU might go in replacing him, but if he had a vote, it would be for Chatman, who has been there with him for eight seasons and served as an assistant coach on Mike Davis’ staff prior to Jones coming aboard.
Jones’ son, John Jones, has reportedly departed to join the basketball staff at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
“Because of the landscape and the way that it is now with the transfer portal opening today and the academics and the things that you have to go through with the kids on campus today, I think Shyrone would be a great choice,” Jones said. “Hopefully, he gets the opportunity to go through the interview process and that he will have a legitimate chance of being the next head coach there.”
Jones departs TSU after eight seasons in which he guided the program to new heights with four NCAA Tournament appearances, which included the program’s second-ever Tournament win in 2021. He guided the program to three consecutive SWAC Championships and NCAA Tournament berths, and the Tigers played in nine straight postseasons during his tenure.
Jones also posted five wins over Power 5 opponents during his tenure, including three such wins in 2018. He also guided the Tigers to a 69-54 upset win over No.20 Florida in 2021, marking the first time in history that a SWAC team had defeated a ranked SEC opponent.
Jones posted a record of 135-125 overall and 90-49 in SWAC play at TSU.
Jones denied that the changing landscape in college athletics, with the transfer portal, NIL, and revenue sharing, which have all challenged and stretched HBCU athletic departments, played a part in his decision to leave to become an assistant at a Power 4 school with far more resources.
Jones is a part of an offseason trend of SWAC basketball coaches leaving head coaching jobs to take assistant coaching jobs at Power 4 schools. In addition to Jones, Mo Williams has left Jackson State to follow his son at Kentucky, and Alabama State head coach Tony Madlock has rejoined Penny Hardaway at Memphis.
“No, because that’s at every level,” Jones said. “You saw Michigan win the national championship for the first time with five transfers. So that’s the landscape that we live with now in college athletics. It’s a part of it. Obviously, it changed, and we were able to adjust, as well, and still get really good quality players in our program.”
Jones, who in 2024 received a contract extension through the 2029 season, was originally hired by then-TSU athletic director and later SWAC commissioner Charles McClleland. Jones took over for Davis, who had the program on the upswing before departing.
Jones clearly took the program to the next level. But Jones says the success he achieved at TSU was due to the players and coaches he worked with and the tremendous support he received from the administration.
“Coaches don’t win championships alone. The administration plays a major part in that. From Dr. McClelland, who hired me there and kind of set the stage and the tone for me. It was really a special place. The way things were set up, allowed us to work and recruit at a certain level. Getting the student athletes that we needed in the program at that time took us to new heights.
“Mike Davis had done a tremendous job prior to me. My job was to come in and see if we could take it to new heights. We were fortunate to win three championships in a row and get to the Tournament and win two games in the NCAA Tournament. So a lot of positive things happened along the way.”
Jones said aside from the two NCAA Tournament wins and SWAC championships the program won on his watch, what he is most proud of is the team’s high APR ratings and near-perfect graduation rate.
“It just means you had so much buy-in from the student athletes and the academic student athletes center,” he said. “Just so many people doing so many things to make sure our kids were successful.”
