72 hours. That’s how long SMU is willing to wait for Hawaii coach June Jones to make a decision on whether he wants to come to the Hilltop according to a source involved with the search for SMU.

SMU set the timeline Wednesday morning to avoid a situation similar to what happened with now-Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. SMU allowed him time to consider the job after bringing him to Dallas and Johnson immediately went back to Georgia Tech for a second interview and wound up taking the job as the Yellow Jackets head coach.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported in Wednesday’s editions that Jones and his agent Leigh Steinberg are going back to Hawaii for a week to mull over openings from a college team and an NFL team. Jones told the paper he hadn’t considered any of the opportunities yet.

The University of Hawaii has not made any proposals for a new contract for Jones. His current one expires June 30, but Steinberg told the Advertiser that the contract has essentially ended.

SMU has not directly contacted Jones during the search process, instead working through back channels because of Hawaii’s trip to the Sugar Bowl.

SMU still has $10-$12 million to offer a new head coach and his staff. ESPN reported Wednesday morning that SMU is offering between $1.5 and $1.7 million per year to Jones, an amount that would fit within that range.

Story posted at 12:58 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.