11 Thursday, July 9, 2015 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com SPORTS Hackett unsure of future, but confident in game plan Despite strong fan support, interim athletic director hesitant to commit By ZACH SHAW Summer Managing Sports Editor After firing Brady Hoke, hir- ing Jim Harbaugh and landing a reported record-high apparel deal with Nike, most Michigan fans would happily let Interim Athletic Director Jim Hack- ett drop the ‘Interim’ part of his title and simply take the job. But just like all the decisions he has made at the position, Hackett is happy to take all the time he needs to make sure his decision on his future, whatever it is, is the right one. “I’m not there yet,” Hack- ett said on Tuesday. “I know it sounds funny to you, but there’s no hidden thing. It’s working, so why mess with it? “Right now, I’ve got more issues to tackle, so I’m focused on that.” Hackett’s patience is a luxury afforded by a support staff that now includes former Oregon State Athletic Director Bob De Carolis. De Carolis — a former Michigan softball coach and ath- letics administrator from 1979- 1998 — has retired to Ann Arbor after 17 years at Oregon State, and is serving as a senior advi- sor with no intentions of becom- ing the next Athletic Director at Michigan. De Carolis is helping out with day-to-day tasks, such as ongo- ing construction at Michigan’s athletic campus, and is a part of a team of experi- enced assistants and advisors Hackett is dele- gating expanded leadership roles to. “We have very clear ownership of aspects within the organiza- tion,” Hackett said. “It’s a little different than (predecessor Dave Brandon’s). I have a smaller team working for me, but they have bigger jobs.” “They pray I don’t manage the day-to-day,” he added with a grin. “What we have is a perfect fit for my style.” The system, as Hackett explained it to reporters on Tuesday, is what he called a ‘Point-of-View’ process. Essen- tially, when- ever a task or problem arises, whichever employee has the most expe- rience in handling the issue will take control, sometimes even giving orders to Hackett. The result, according to Hack- ett, is an increased ownership and devotion to the tasks, along with visible acuity to the issue at hand. “I’m not saying I’m above it all or distant, it’s just finding where is the best use of my time. Bill Gates used to use a phrase call ‘Bill Dollars,’ because where do you want to spend Bill Dol- lars over the course of the day in Microsoft? “Where do you want to spend Jim Hackett’s time? Where can we get the most leverage from him, and what are his skills and gifts? There’s a lot of that around me that is much better handled by (fellow employees).” But the elephant in the room remains. Eventually, Hackett will have to take ownership of the job, or pass it on to the next candidate. *** Fan approval of the Athletic Department is evidenced by decade-high ticket interest and sales, but Hackett knows the circumstances behind both his arrival — when he replaced the resign- ing Brandon in November — and decision- making don’t indicate a suc- cessful long- term future. “When I came here, (University President Mark Schlissel) had been on the job I think eight weeks,” Hackett said. “There was a sea of problems (at Michigan) that weren’t just ath- letics, but a lot of transitional pieces going around. In the midst of that, we’ve got the football program and I thought ‘With all that, the things you would need to know about somebody to make a decision of their permanence, we bypassed.’ “So it would be like a forced marriage, and what’s the probability that that’s going to live like my 39 years of mar- riage? So I said to the Presi- dent, ‘If you’re OK, I’d like to put that off until we both think it needs more attention.’ ” Hackett has asked Schlissel to meet with him after the presi- dent returns from China, and has at least three more major projects that he isn’t ready to announce yet. His mind isn’t made up about the future, but thanks to an enhanced support staff, it doesn’t have to be. “You almost want the thing running better almost as if you weren’t there, because it means every- one around you is stron- ger,” Hackett said. “I want you to think about empowerment and growth as a virtue I get to bring to the organization. If the day I leave everyone says, ‘He asked us to do more and we were better,’ I’d be happy with a report card like that.” ZACH MOORE/Daily Interim Athletic Director Jim Hackett has no plans to leave Michigan yet, but is still hesitant to become a permanant employee. “There’s no hidden thing. It’s working, so why mess it up?” BY THE NUMBERS Jim Hackett 1977 Year Hackett graduated. He was the cen- ter on the football team and teammates with Dave Brandon $175 Cost of season tickets next fall, far lower than the $295 price tag under Brandon. 31 Years he worked for Steelcase Furniture, serving as CEO for 20 of those years. 1 Coaching hires made so far by Hackett (football coach Jim Harbaugh). “I’ve got more issues to tackle, so I’m focused on that.” “It would be like a forced marriage.”