"Oh, man, that rain was unbelievable," said UH coach June Jones, who had noticed that Walsh, unlike the reporters, was smart enough to get out of the rain.

"I felt bad. He told me he was going to come by, and I was going to have him speak to the team. I thought he left when the downpour came."

Instead, Walsh watched the rest of the abbreviated practice from the backseat of a rented truck. As the players sprinted to the locker room after practice, Walsh approached Jones.

"We're working on having him speak to the team before one of our games," Jones said. "Our guys need to hear him. He's just a smart guy. You wouldn't believe how much he's helped me."

Jones, who coached in the NFL for 21 years, and Walsh have been friends for several years. They grew closer during Walsh's recent visits to Hawai'i.

"I always respected him as a coach," Jones said. "He shares a lot of insights to a lot of things. We would talk football at dinner or at Waialae (Country Club). He gave me some really good ideas on some things he thought would help what we were doing."

Jones said he once struggled with a passing route that was a key concept to the Warriors' four-wide offense. Jones sought advice from Walsh.

"He had me adjust some (alignment) splits and, sure enough, it made a huge difference in the way a defense reacted to it," Jones said. "Every time he says, 'Try this,' almost to a 'T' the adjustment would work beautifully."

Walsh downplayed his contribution, saying, "I've enjoyed watching June's offense. He's got it perfected."

Walsh added: "We have a good friendship. It's a mutual admiration society."

Jones said that wasn't always the case. In 1975, Walsh, then an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals, was assigned to evaluate a skinny quarterback at Portland State.

"I first met him when he came to a Portland State game," Jones recalled, "and he rejected me as a quarterback."

Walsh, now a consultant at Stanford, said he follows the Warriors.

"Those last two wins (over Northwestern and Michigan State) last year were magnificent," Walsh said. "I think Hawai'i will take great pride in that."

After watching yesterday's practice, Walsh noted: "They have smart passing. They have excellent quick receivers. They have some great combination of pass patterns, and they really look like they can effectively move the ball.

"Defensively, the guys are quick and big. They should have a good year next season."

Walsh's West Coast Offense, which relies on short accurate passes, and Jones' four-wide offense share elements such as adjusting routes on the run based on the defensive coverage. He said he would incorporate parts of Jones' offense into his own "if I were coaching."

Asked if he would like to return to coaching, Walsh smiled and said, "Not in this rain."