On his last full day in Hawai'i, Jones invited reporters to speak with him at his favorite spot, the Hokulia luxury development on the Big Island.

"The state of Hawai'i has an opportunity to make a decision to change so that the next coach is not frustrated by the kinds of things that Herman (Frazier, the recently fired UH athletic director) and I and everybody else has been paralyzed with," Jones said. "I'm not a person that gets up and beats on the table and I knew when I came here it was this way. I tried to do things in those early years and I was accused of all kinds of things by people who thought I had ulterior motives. Every change I made was with the school or my players in mind.

"Because of me leaving now, I think there's a sense of urgency to do the things that need to be done and should have been done," Jones said.

Jones, widely believed to have been at odds with Frazier, defended the former athletics director, saying that Frazier did what he could to address deteriorating facilities and other "frustrations" but was limited by a lack of funds and support.

Frazier, under fire for not re-signing Jones, was fired a day after Jones announced that he was leaving UH to take the head coaching position at Southern Methodist University.

"I felt really bad about that situation because, as a football coach, Herman was right there with us, helping me as much as he could," Jones said. "I hate that the timing of it was triggered with my departure. In no way did I ever feel that Herman was anything but helpful. Whenever I needed anything, I went downstairs and Herman tried to get it done. He was faced with a lot of the frustrations I faced the first four years on the job until he showed up. I know he tried to do it right and tried to do it correctly."

Jones also said he thinks McMackin is the best person to lead a smooth coaching transition. Jones had invited McMackin to serve as his defensive coordinator at SMU.

"I don't want to lose Greg McMackin," Jones said. "But just the thought that he has a possibility to be here, I want that for the school because that's the best chance to keep the continuity of the things we have built and the things we have done."