Hackett May Be the Man

Fox Sports News reported late Tuesday that USC football Coach John Robinson will be fired and replaced by Kansas City Chief offensive coordinator Paul Hackett, who served as an assistant under Robinson at USC from 1976-80.

USC sports information director Tim Tessalone responded to the report by saying, “Nothing’s changed right now.”

“[Athletic Director] Mike Garrett is still in the process of evaluating the football program,” Tessalone said. “We’re just waiting for him to make his decision. There’s all sorts of rumors out there, but at this point in time they’re all unsubstantiated. All those reports are premature.

“We have not called a press conference at this time. We’re just waiting to hear from Mike.”

The Los Angeles Daily News reported Tuesday that Hackett, an assistant with the Chiefs since 1993, had been interviewed by USC.

Hackett also issued a denial.

“There’s nothing going on with USC,” he told the Kansas City Star late in the afternoon. “If you want to talk about the Chiefs. . . . We just won a championship. I have no comment at all.”

Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer would only say, “We have no comment at this time.”

A USC source close to the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity admitted that “there’s an interest level on USC’s part [in Hackett].”

“If someone’s out there that USC might want, we could go in that direction,” the source said. “Otherwise, John Robinson will be retained. It’s likely the situation will be resolved pretty quickly.”

Garrett said earlier he would make a decision this week.

One possible stumbling block with Hackett is a starting date. The Chiefs (12-3) have clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, making them the AFC favorites to reach the Super Bowl, to be played Jan. 25 in San Diego. The Chiefs will play their first playoff game the weekend of Jan. 3-4.

The Daily News reported that Hackett met with USC general counsel Robert Lane on Monday night in Kansas City.

“I really can’t talk about it,” Lane told the newspaper. “There’s really nothing to talk about.”

Hackett, 50, has had one head coaching job--at Pittsburgh from 1990-92. He joined the Chiefs after being fired by the school.

He has been an assistant coach at UC Davis (1970-71), California (1972-75), USC (1976-80) and Pitt (1989) as well as with four NFL teams--the Cleveland Browns (1981-82), the San Francisco 49ers (1983-85), the Dallas Cowboys (1986-88) and the Chiefs.

Hackett was criticized last season and early this season for a perceived lack of creativity on offense. In fact, a columnist for the Kansas City Star had a campaign going called “Sack the Hack,” an attempt to have him removed as offensive coordinator.

However, the Chiefs then started winning and the campaign died.

Robinson, under contract through 2001, was unavailable for comment. He was said to be in his office Tuesday morning, but not in the afternoon, and a caller was told he would be back in his office today.

Robinson, 62, has a 104-35-4 record in 12 years as USC’s coach--from 1976-82 and 1993-97, but the Trojans are a combined 12-11 the last two seasons after going 9-2-1 in 1995 including a 41-32 victory over Northwestern in the 1996 Rose Bowl game.

He coached the Rams from 1983-91.

After a 35-7 loss to Arizona State on Oct. 11, dropping the Trojans to 2-3, Robinson said he would leave if things didn’t turn around.

USC then won four of its next five games, including a 20-17 victory at Notre Dame, before losing to fifth-ranked UCLA, 31-24, to finish the season. The Trojans (6-5) did not receive a bowl bid.