Urban Meyer can still remember how he felt upon being hired and the hope he held for a winning Jaguars franchise. He can still recall the visions he had of a packed house that he would help fill.

While he believes it will all come eventually for Jacksonville and owner Shad Khan, he just won't be the one to make it a reality.

Meyer was fired shortly after midnight on Thursday morning following a 2-11 start to his lone NFL season that was mired by controversy and negative headlines on and off the field.

In an exclusive interview with NFL.com, Meyer spoke publicly for the first time since his firing and expressed his disappointment in how his Jacksonville tenure unfolded.

"I just apologize to Jacksonville," Meyer said over the phone on Friday from Florida. "I love Jacksonville. It's one of the reasons I took the job. I still think Shad's a great owner. It's heart-breaking. I just had a dream of it becoming a destination place with a new facility he agreed to build and some day to walk into that stadium where it's standing room only. Because I know how bad the people of Jacksonville want it. So, I'm just heartbroken that we weren't able to do that. I still believe it's going to be done. It's too good of a place."

In the 23-minute-long interview, Meyer said he was "devastated," denied all accusations made against him in his final days, explained why he benched star running back James Robinson against the Rams and detailed where it got away on the field.