Paul Hackett (American football)

Paul Hackett (born July 5, 1947 in Burlington, Vermont) is an American football coach. He was most recently serving as the quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders under Head Coach Tom Cable during the 2010 season. He served as head coach of University of Pittsburgh and University of Southern California during the 1990s.

Hackett began his coaching career at his alma mater, UC Davis, 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 coach Jim Sochor. He then was an assistant at California for four years (1972–75), 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 (1976–80) as an assistant coach under John Robinson; Hackett would succeed Robinson at USC after the latter's second tenure as head coach.

From 1989 to 1992 he led the University of Pittsburgh Panthers. He replaced Mike Gottfried whom he had served as offensive coordinator, just prior to the 1989 Sun Bowl which resulted in a Pitt victory over Texas A&M.

Between his two head coaching stints, Hackett served as the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1993 to 1997. The Chiefs made the playoffs four of five seasons, ranking fifth in offense in his last year.

Hackett was head coach at USC from 1998 until 2000, prior to Pete Carroll taking over. During the first season he guided the Trojans to the 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. His 1999 and 2000 Trojans football teams were the first USC teams to have consecutive non-winning seasons since 1960-61. The 2000 team was tied for last place in the Pacific-10 Conference. His winning percentage as USC coach was .514, compared to the school's then all-time win percentage of .691. 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. Hackett felt he was clearly not given enough time to rebuild and develop his recruits, such as Carson Palmer. "In two years, I expect to see this team explode," he said.

After leaving USC - as their head coach, Hackett served as the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets from 2001 to 2004. He was forced to resign from the team after the 2004 season. During his time with the Jets, he was criticized by Vinny Testaverde for questionable play calling, and by the media for an ultra-conservative "play it safe" offensive philosophy. He was the Tampa Bay quarterbacks coach from 2005 to 2007. From 2008 to 2010, Hackett worked as the quarterback coach for the Oakland Raiders. Hackett is married and has two sons, David and Nathaniel.

Head coaching record
* Hackett only coached the Sun Bowl, replacing Mike Gottfried. ** Final game of season coached by Sal Sunseri