Sorry, John L. Smith - the ‘L’ must stand for ‘Luckless.’ Hawaii has chosen a new head coach, and it’s not the former Spartan leader.

The HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN reports that the Warriors have promoted assistant Greg McMackin to run the football program. The defensive coordinator was all set to follow June Jones to SMU, until he was given the chance to take the reins of the defending WAC champs.

It does seem a bit odd that a team known for their offensive output would nab a defensive guy. But then again, this school did let Jones slip away from paradise to the plains of Conference USA.

McMackin has his work cut out for him, such as building a coaching staff, hitting the recruiting trail - and finding a Hawaiian home for his daughter & grandchildren, who he plans to move out from Texas.

As for John L. losing out on the job, we imagine this was his reaction:

John L. Smith hopes he can say aloha to employment in Hawaii.

The DETROIT FREE PRESS slaps us with news that the former Michigan State and Louisville coach is interested in the Warriors job, which became available after June Jones jettisoned for SMU.

And Smith is selling himself for the Pacific position: “I think I could bring high energy and an unsurpassed work ethic to help keep Hawaii at the top of the WAC. I’ve had experience recruiting Hawaii, and also Samoa along with, of course, the West Coast and the rest of the country.”

He definitely has the energy, as shown by these examples:

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