ROBINSON OUT; HACKETT TO REPLACE OLD BOSS.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

USC fired football coach John Robinson late Tuesday night and hired Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Paul Hackett as its new coach.

Hackett, 50, agreed to become the Trojans' coach on Tuesday morning. The deal was consummated in a Kansas City hotel room as Hackett met with USC athletic director Mike Garrett, university president Steven Sample and general counsel Robert Lane.

Sample, whose final approval was required to make the coaching change, took a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Kansas City just to meet Hackett. He spent less than five hours in Missouri.

Hackett, who remained in Kansas City, where he is still employed by the Chiefs, will be announced as USC's 20th football coach in a press conference this afternoon.

In his only public comments Tuesday, Hackett denied being a candidate to replace Robinson.

``There's nothing going on with USC,'' Hackett said.

Asked about his meeting with Lane on Monday night, Hackett said, ``I have no comment at all.''

His hiring drew mostly quizzical responses from USC players.

``I don't know who Paul Hackett is,'' cornerback Daylon McCutcheon said.

Robinson could not be reached for comment, but he called his coaching staff Tuesday night and informed them he had been fired.

He briefly met with his staff Tuesday morning and instructed them to go home for the day. According to a source, Robinson first heard he was being fired from a member of the university's board of trustees.

Robinson then went and had breakfast with his wife and went home.

``He's disappointed, but John's not down,'' said a source who spoke to Robinson. ``He really felt he had a shot to make this thing work.''

Robinson had raised the standards for this season by labeling it a ``prove it year.''

The Trojans then had a 6-5 season, including blowout losses to Arizona State, 35-7, and Washington, 27-0.

Robinson declared after the Arizona State game that he would resign if USC did not turn its season around. The Trojans went 4-2 the rest of the way, but it apparently was not enough to impress Garrett.

Robinson was 12-11 in his final two years but won the 1996 Rose Bowl with a 41-32 victory over Northwestern. Robinson was 37-22-2 in his second tenure at USC.

Overall, he leaves USC with a 104-36-4 record, three Rose Bowl titles and the 1978 national championship.

The hiring of Hackett, a USC assistant from 1976-80, comes 10 years after he originally turned down the job in 1987 and USC hired Larry Smith. Hackett had even looked at houses and schools in Southern California. But at the time he was considered the heir apparent to Cowboys coach Tom Landry, who was expected to retire in the next couple years.

But Landry surprised Hackett by signing a three-year contract extension, and Hackett was eventually fired by Landry in 1988.

Hackett ended up becoming an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh, and he replaced Mike Gottfried as head coach for the 1989 John Hancock Bowl.

His tenure at Pitt was viewed as a failure, as Hackett compiled a 13-20-1 record in three seasons. According to sources, some Pitt assistants had difficulty with Hackett because of his intense nature.

There was already talk that Hackett's hiring was unusual, because he is synonymous among USC supporters as being Robinson's top assistant during the glory days of the late 1970s. But sources said the pair are not especially close and had difficulty during their time together with the Trojans.

Hackett is much better known for his offensive expertise. He is a proponent of the West Coast offense and is known for coaching former 49ers quarterback Joe Montana in the mid-80s.

Exactly when Hackett will begin his new job at USC is uncertain. He is contractually bound to the Chiefs through the end of their season, and team president Carl Peterson said Tuesday he expects Hackett to honor the agreement.

``Paul Hackett is under contract with the Kansas City Chiefs for the entire 1997 season. And that season is on-going and we hope it goes on for a long time,'' Peterson said. ``I would venture that Paul Hackett would very much want to fulfill his obligation until the end of the season.''

A big question around USC the next few days will be who Hackett hires as assistant coaches. A logical choice could be Mike Sanford, the Notre Dame quarterback coach, who was a long-time Trojans assistant before leaving after the 1996 season.

Sanford worked as a graduate assistant for Hackett at USC in the late 1970s.

Other prospective assistant-coaching candidates are Kansas State assistant Ron Hudson and former USC assistant Artie Gigantino.

Hackett will have to build a staff fast, because they will be counted on to immediately recruit while he remains in Kansas City with the Chiefs.

ROBINSON`S COACHING CAREER

1976: After 3 seasons as offensive coordinator for John McKay, hired as head coach at USC. Trojans finish 11-1 and beat Michigan 14-6 in Rose Bowl.

1978-79: A 17-10 victory over Michigan in Rose Bowl caps 12-1 season. Trojans finish No. 1 in UPI poll, No. 2 in AP poll.

1983: Replaces Ray Malavasi as head coach of LA Rams. Finishes 9-7 and beats Dallas in wild-card game.

1989-91: Leads Rams to 1989 NFC Championship game. Rams fail to make playoffs next two season.

Jan. 3, 1993: Returns to USC after 10-year absence. Trojans share Pac-10 title with Arizona and UCLA and beat Utah in Freedom Bowl.

1996: Robinson receives 5-year contract extension through 2001. USC ends 13-year drought against Notre Dame with 27-20 overtime victory.

1997: Win No. 100 comes Oct. 4 against UNLV. Two months later, he is removed as head coach.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Chart

PHOTO (1--Color) Ending speculation, USC coach John Robinson, shown in happier times, was fired Tuesday.

Associated Press

(2--Color) HACKETT

CHART: (color) ROBINSON`S COACHING CAREER (see text)

Jon Clifford / Daily News