The Hackett Years?

The Hackett Years?

So I think comparing Lane Kiffin to Paul Hackett is a major disservice to the 1998-2000 USC football coach.

On November 28, 2000, the LA Times wrote, “HACKETT MET WITH a large group of newspaper reporters following his firing in Heritage Hall, and then invited a select group of seven to join him in his office. Although several had been some of his harshest critics, he thanked them for taking the time to better understand what he had been trying to accomplish.

And it was vintage Hackett to the very end in this private meeting--the gentleman with class--candid, emotional and positive about his experiences at USC with the caveat that he had not been given enough time to complete his task.” T.J. Simers

Trojan senior quarterback Mike Van Raaphorst said, "The thing I'll remember most about Coach Hackett was how he was able to handle all the adversity around him. He took it all on his shoulders. It was a lesson for the rest of us."

Paul Hackett coached football for 30 years before landing the USC head coach job. He wasn’t a success at USC by a long shot and I’ll never understand why he clapped when the other team scored. He didn’t have a lot of talent to put out on the field; hell, Petros Papadakis was the tailback.

And I too have compared Kiffin’s frustrating tenure at my alma mater to the “Hackett years.”

But like I said, Lane Kiffin is no Paul Hackett...and that’s too bad.