Minium: Jeff Jones returns to ODU as a mentor to coaches for all 18 athletics teams

By Harry Minium

NORFOLK, Va. – Jeff Jones didn’t stay retired very long.

After resigning as Old Dominion’s head basketball coach last February, Jones will continue to work for ODU athletics as a mentor for the University’s 18 head coaches and the dozens of Monarch assistant coaches.

Dr. Wood Selig, ODU’s director of athletics, said Jones will fill a role that is unusual in college athletics – providing ODU’s coaches, especially it’s younger coaches, with guidance to help them cope with the challenges of the modern world of college sports.

“Jeff will be working with our head coaches, as well as our assistants, helping them through the year in any capacity they may feel would be beneficial personally and professionally,” Dr. Selig said.

“Jeff was named the head coach at UVA at the age of 29, so he has seen it all before. He’s done it all before.

“Jeff is going to be a tremendous asset for all of us at ODU.”

Selig has been pondering ways to help coaches deal with the added pressure that changing rules have forced upon them.  Recruiting, practice, travel and raising money have long made coaching a grind, but the advent of NIL and the transfer portal have greatly added to the pressure coaches feel.

“ODU coaches will be among a select group nationally to have such a valuable in-house resource to assist them daily in their pursuit of competitive excellence,” Dr. Selig said.

“Coach Jones is ideally suited for this new role.”

Marquette coach Shaka Smart credits a number of mentors for his success, including Hall of Fame coach George Raveling, but for the last four years his primary mentor has been a former business CEO with whom he has Zoom meetings weekly.

“It’s been lifesaving for me. I wish I had done it sooner,” he said on X.

The University of North Carolina went a step further five years ago and has used Larry Gallo, a senior and executive senior athletic director, to mentor coaches of its 28 teams, as well as student-athletes. Gallo was a long-time head baseball coach for the Tar Heels and Notre Dame whose primary role has been mentoring coaches since 2019.

Gallo, who is retiring at the end of August, was described on the UNC website by Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham as “a mentor, a sideline psychologist, a shoulder to cry on, someone to share a celebratory hug with and a friend to all.”

Jones certainly has the resume and heart to fill that role. He was a head coach for 32 years at Virginia, American and ODU and compiled a 560-417 record.

He took 13 teams to postseason play including his 1999 UVA team, which went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Jones was 203-131 in 13 years at ODU, and is second in career victories among Monarch coaches.

Jones is well-known and well-respected among coaches nationally. He has been active in the National Association of Basketball Coaches and served as the organization’s president in 2016-2017.

He also cares deeply for his former players. Each year he hosts a dinner at the NCAA Final Four for former assistant coaches and players at his expense. He recently hosted a dinner at his Larchmont home for former players from ODU, UVA and American.

Jones suffered a heart attack in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Dec. 20, 2023, while continuing treatments for prostate cancer. When he announced his resignation, he said health was the primary reason.

This job won’t include the kind of physical and emotional wear and tear that recruiting and coaching takes on a coach. And, Jones, 64, said he is heathy and ready to take on a new challenge.

“When Wood and I talked about a role I could play within the athletic department this year, some of his thoughts really resonated with me,” he said. “That role, as I see it, is to try to be a resource for all our coaches in any way they might deem desirable.

“I have already designed some programming for both head and assistant coaches. But more than anything, what I want to do is find out what’s on their minds. How can I help as a resource? Can I bring in guest speakers or do things to support them and their teams?

“This is not a role that is very common on the collegiate level. But I want to make it something that can help them and be tailored to fit their individual needs.

“We all know coaching is a great profession, but it’s also a tough profession. If I can somehow lift them up, support them, that’s what I hope to do. For the young coaches, if they need help in their career development, that’s exactly what my new role is designed to do.”

Longtime baseball Head Coach Chris Finwood said the role is perfect for Jones and for ODU.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said. “I can’t imagine having a guy better suited to help mentor our coaches than Jeff Jones.

“I told him to get a spot on the couch in his office ready for me. We’ll call it daily therapy. I’m excited as heck about it.

“We have a lot of young coaches who could benefit from Jeff’s guidance. I hope they take advantage of it.”

Head Football Coach Ricky Rahne said he will encourage his young staff to reach out to Jones.

“I don’t know how much it benefits me because I’ve already been asking him questions,” Rahne said. “But I think it’s great for everyone else.

“I’ve always asked him questions, particularly when I first started, and he’s been a huge help to me. It’s an awesome thing that he will be there full-time for so many other coaches.”

Jones was not idle during his short retirement. He remained active in working with the military – he just came back from an 11-day goodwill trip to Kuwait – and is active in the Coaches vs. Cancer campaign. He said serving the military and raising awareness for cancer are passions for him.

And so, he said, is mentoring coaches.

“This isn’t going to be about wins and losses,” he said. “This is about supporting them personally and professionally.”

He has already lined up several programs for ODU coaches, including a presentation from former UVA teammate Jimmy Miller, who coached, is a financial consultant and serves as the radio color analyst for Cavalier basketball.

“I want to make sure I get by some practices and see some games of every program,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s feasible, but I would like to travel with each team.

“Realistically, Ricky and Finny, they probably don’t need me. It’s the younger coaches who I hope to help.

“It’s not my intention to be doling out advice. My intention is more to be a good listener, a good sounding board, and do whatever I can to help.”

 Minium is ODU’s senior executive writer. Contact him at hminium@odu.edu or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram