Paul Roger Hackett (born July 5, 1947) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

coach. He served as head football coach of

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

from 1989 to 1992 and at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) from 1998 to 2000. Hackett was quarterbacks coach or offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Oakland Raiders. Hackett began his college coaching career at his alma mater, the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, in 1969, assisting the freshmen in the first year and then directing them to a 13–0 mark over the next two seasons under

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

coach

Jim Sochor Jim Sochor (February 11, 1938 – November 23, 2015) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Davis from 1970 to 1988 during which time comp ...

. He then was an assistant at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

for four years (1972–1975), the first season as a graduate assistant, the next as the receivers coach and the final two as the quarterbacks coach. Then, at age 29, he moved to USC for five years (1976–1980) as an assistant coach under John Robinson. Hackett then began in the NFL as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (1981–82), followed by a stint as quarterbacks/receivers coach for the San Francisco 49ers (1983–85)—during which he coached

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", ...

in the 1984 Super Bowl victory—and as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys (1986–1988). From 1989 to 1992 Hackett was the head football coach at the

. He replaced

Mike Gottfried Mike Gottfried (born December 17, 1944) is a sportscaster and former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Murray State University (1978–1980), the University of Cincinnati (1981–1982), the University of ...

, whom he had served as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

, just prior to the 1989 John Hancock Bowl, which resulted in a

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

victory over

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. Hackett then moved back to the NFL as offensive coordinator for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

from 1993 to 1997. He was instrumental in acquiring his quarterback from the 49ers, Joe Montana, to play for the Chiefs from 1993 to 1994. The Chiefs made the playoffs four of five seasons, ranking fifth in offense in his last year. Hackett moved back to college football as head coach at USC from 1998 until 2000, prior to

Pete Carroll Peter Clay Carroll (born September 15, 1951) is an American football coach who is the head coach and executive vice president for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was previously the head football coach at USC Troja ...

taking over. During the first season he guided the Trojans to the 1998 Sun Bowl, losing in a major upset to TCU. Hackett's final two years at the school were difficult, as the fans and alumni base turned against him.

T. J. Simers T. J. Simers (born September 2, 1950) is an American sports columnist who worked for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1990 to 2013 before accepting a position at the Orange County Register where he worked until accepting a voluntary buyout. He att ...

Hackett's Successor Needs Booster Shot for Alumni
''Los Angeles Times'', 2000-11-28, Accessed 2008-07-16. His 1999 and 2000 Trojans football teams were the first USC teams to have consecutive non-winning seasons since 1960 and 1961.Bill Shaikin
USC Has Victory Bell
''Los Angeles Times'', 2000-11-19, Accessed 2008-07-15. The 2000 team was tied for last place in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

.Larry Stewart
‘Very Disappointed,’ Hackett Gets the Ax
''Los Angeles Times'', 2000-11-28, Accessed 2008-07-16. His winning percentage as USC coach was .514, compared to the school's then all-time win percentage of .691.David Wharton
Another USC Turnover
''Los Angeles Times'', 2000-11-28, Accessed 2008-07-16. USC fired Hackett on November 27, 2000; to do so, it spent $800,000 to buy out the remaining two years of his five-year, $3.5-million contract.David Wharton
Hackett Not Shy About Celebrating Big Victory
''Los Angeles Times'', 2000-11-19, Accessed 2008-07-16.Adande, J.A.
Now Garrett's Back Is Against the Wallet
''Los Angeles Times'', 2000-12-16, Accessed 2008-07-15. Hackett felt he was clearly not given enough time to rebuild and develop his recruits, such as

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

. "In two years, I expect to see this team explode," he said. He was proved correct; by 2002, the Trojans were ranked fourth in the country with a team built primarily around Hackett's recruits. After leaving USC, Hackett again returned to the NFL, serving as the

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

from 2001 to 2004. He was then the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

quarterbacks coach from 2005 to 2007. From 2008 to 2010, Hackett worked as the quarterback coach for the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

, after which he retired from coaching. Hackett is married and has two sons, David and

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate A ...

Head coaching record

*Hackett only coached the John Hancock Bowl, replacing

.
**Final game of season coached by

Sal Sunseri Sal Sunseri (born August 1, 1959) is an American college and professional football coach who currently serves as the defensive tackles coach for the University of Colorado of the Pac-12 Conference. Sunseri played college football for the Univ ...

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio (2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackett, Paul 1947 births Living people American football quarterbacks Cleveland Browns coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Dallas Cowboys coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches New York Jets coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches San Francisco 49ers coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches UC Davis Aggies football coaches UC Davis Aggies football players USC Trojans football coaches National Football League offensive coordinators Sportspeople from Burlington, Vermont