North Carolina State University Athletics
The Waiting Game Continues
1/3/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
If Les Robinson sticks to his guns, NC State will have a new football coach later this week. On Monday, the NC State Athletics Director submitted a short list of candidates to Chancellor Marye Anne Fox.
If everything works as planned, Robinson could hire Mike O'Cain's successor shortly after receiving a recommendation from Fox.
As of last week, Robinson confirmed that Florida State assistant head coach Chuck Amato was among those coaches still in the running for the job. Amato, who is in New Orleans for Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl, said on Sunday: "I'm always interested in coming back to my alma mater. Right now, I'm putting all of my energies into helping Florida State win the national championship. We'll just have to see what happens after that. I'm in a win-win situation."
Amato, who played at NC State from 1965-67, has met with Robinson on at least two occasions.
O'Cain was relieved of his duties following a 6-6 campaign. Robinson is looking for a coach who can produce a top caliber program that is capable of national respect and yearly visits to post-season bowl games.
"You can win in a lot of places if people want to roll up their sleeves and go to work to get done what needs to get done," Amato said. "It's not easy anywhere. Everybody's got to pull together to get it done."
Stanford's Tyrone Willingham is another coach to whom Robinson has spoken, although it's not known if he is a finalist for the job. Willingham is a Jacksonville, North Carolina native and a former Wolfpack assistant coach. He guided the Cardinal to a Pac Ten title and a birth in the Rose Bowl this past season.
