Hackett Feels He’s Safe for Now, but Knows That It’s Not a Lock

Growing speculation about USC football Coach Paul Hackett--does he stay or does he go?--prompted a flurry of responses Tuesday, from Hackett and his boss, even from an opposing coach.

With the Trojans on a four-game losing streak, Hackett knows he is on the hot seat but said he has maintained a close relationship with Athletic Director Mike Garrett, who has voiced disappointment over the team’s performance.

“We talk every week,” Hackett said. “He’s been on the same page with me.”

However, the coach quickly acknowledged, “When the season is over, that’s a whole other issue.”

Garrett, for his part, declined to discuss the matter. Instead, he issued a statement.

“Our season still has five games remaining and it will not help our football program for me to discuss it each week,” the statement read. “Certainly we are disappointed with our record. As I have said before, losing is always painful. I understand the frustration of our fans.

“As I have also said before, I support our coach, Paul Hackett, and our football team. There is nothing more that I can add to that.”

Hackett is in the third year of a five-year contract and has a 17-15 record at USC. After finishing 6-6 in 1999, the Trojans began this season with three victories and a No. 8 ranking.

That fast start deteriorated into a streak reminiscent of last season’s five-game skid.

Along the way, Hackett has been accused of a familiar list of shortcomings involving everything from the way he prepares the team to his clock management during games. He said he has tried to ignore the media, not to mention the telephone calls and faxes that come to the football office.

“That’s the nature of coaching at USC,” he said. “I’m not offended by that.”

But he also accepted responsibility for recent losses.

“We, as coaches, need to coach better,” he said. “I need to coach better.”

Asked how he might change, Hackett said he plans to spend more time on details, even though he previously has been criticized for not delegating enough authority to assistants.

“I need to be more demonstrative and more a part of every little phase of the game,” he said. He talked about “taking some of the observing out of the head-coaching role and being more deliberately right on top, physically, of everything that’s going on.”

That would include, he said, a more active participation in the coaching of special teams, which have been a particular problem for the Trojans. He also spoke of being more careful about blitzing and leaving his young secondary in man-to-man coverage.

The Trojans will try to break their streak against California at the Coliseum on Saturday.

Golden Bear Coach Tom Holmoe played for the San Francisco 49ers in the mid-1980s when Hackett was an assistant with that team. Holmoe, similarly under fire at California, offered his perspective.

“There is a great deal of pressure in these jobs and we take the jobs totally aware of what we’re getting into,” he said. “Whatever happens to us, we’re going to survive.”

Asked if he worries about being fired, Hackett replied, “Not really. This team is practicing hard and this team is keeping distractions to a minimum and that’s what you have to do as a coach.”