After a dinner (Olive Garden) and movie (Transformers), Greg McMackin bid farewell to Lubbock, Texas, and prepared for his mission of turning the University of Hawai'i football team into the "Miami Hurricanes of the Pacific."

McMackin, who was named the successor to defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville in April, and his wife, Heather, are scheduled to arrive in Honolulu tonight.

They spent the past five weeks completing family and business commitments in Lubbock and Las Vegas, where they own homes. McMackin set his schedule to allow him to watch his 11-year-old granddaughter, Kayla, dance at Lubbock's Fourth of July celebration.

"I got to see her perform," McMackin said proudly, "and now I'm thrilled to get back with June (Jones, UH's head coach) and the other assistants. I feel thrilled to be part of it again. Everyone has been so great to us."

McMackin was the Warriors' defensive coordinator in 1999, Jones' first year as UH head coach. With Jones' encouragement, McMackin left the Warriors after one season, accepting a $350,000-a-year offer from Texas Tech. He earned $90,000 at UH in 1999. After a stint with the San Francisco 49ers and a hiatus in 2006 to recuperate from knee surgery, McMackin is back.

"I hope to be able to help June and the other assistants and the players win a WAC championship," McMackin said. "June's done such an amazing job in beating so many good teams. Hawai'i has had a good football program through the years, but what he has done is served notice on all of the big-time teams that 'you'd better not come here for a vacation because you can get your tail kicked.' "

McMackin said Jones' original plan was for the Warriors to be created in the image of one of the most successful college football programs in the 1980s and 1990s.

"He wanted to make (the Warriors) the Miami Hurricanes of the Pacific," said McMackin, who was coordinator of the Hurricanes' top-ranked defense in 1995. "There's some real football tradition in Miami, with all of the NFL guys. Under June, (UH) really has become the whole Miami Hurricanes of a few years ago. June has really developed a football tradition, and I'm excited to be part of it."

Under Glanville, who is now Portland State's head coach, the Warriors attacked out of a 3-4 alignment. McMackin implemented most of his 4-3 defense during spring practice in April.

At the start of spring training, each defensive player received a 2-inch-thick, color-coded playbook.

"We introduced the terminology and a lot of the package, and we put the players in the right positions," McMackin said.

At the end of spring practice, he collected most of the playbooks.

"I always collect them," he said. "You never know who's going to go to another school or something. Coaches are paranoid in that way. A few of the guys have them — the linebackers and guys who are going to make calls."

McMackin said he is confident the players will retain the one thing that cannot be reproduced on the playbook pages.

"We want them to have the attacking, swarming attitude," McMackin said. "Hopefully, we'll make some big plays and play with emotion. That's what we're going to strive for."

McMackin said he already has set a goal for the defense.

"It's an old adage, but our job is to get the ball back to our offense," McMackin said. "The big statistics for us are three-and-outs, takeaways, quarterback sacks, hurries, tackles for losses. Those will be the big stats. I'm not into the yardage thing.

"When you have a quarterback like we have and an offensive genius like June Jones and the guys who work with him, they're going to score. We need to be in shape so we can get the ball to them again and again. That will be our contribution."

GET UP TO SPEED

Hawai'i Speed and Quickness will have clinics tomorrow and Sunday at the UH athletic complex.

Sessions, which are open to all ages, are $10 and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Several prominent athletes will serve as guest instructors.

Call 739-5444 or go to www.hawaiispeedandquickness.com for details.

CLINIC COMING SOON

Applications are being accepted for the Hawai'i Football Clinic.

University of Hawai'i coaches June Jones, George Lumpkin, Rich Miano, Jeff Reinebold, Dan Morrison, Ron Lee, Cal Lee, Dennis McKnight, Wes Suan and Mel deLaura will be the guest instructors.

The clinic is divided into two segments — July 21 to 22 for ages 5 to 12, and July 24 to 27 for ages 13 and older. Both sessions are 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

For ages 5 to 12, the fees are $40 for individuals and $30 each for groups of 10 or more. For the older participants, fees are $75 for individuals and $60 apiece for groups of 15 or more.

For information or credit card options, call Doris Sullivan at 261-5000 or log on to www.PacificAthleticAlliance.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.