North Carolina State University Athletics
Buddy-Ball Is Back
7/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
Last February, when he was offered a chance to return to NC State as Chuck Amato's defensive coordinator, Buddy Green knew what he wanted to do. Although he had spent the last six years running his own program at Chattanooga, the thought of a return to his alma mater was powerfully enticing. In many ways, it was a no-brainer.
"Actually when Chuck first got the job, I talked to him about some other guys he was considering for positions on the staff," Green said. "From that point it developed into a relationship where he wanted me as his defensive coordinator. We were right in the middle of recruiting at Chattanooga. I really appreciate the fact that Chuck waited to allow me to finish my recruiting at Chattanooga. It gave me a chance to tell my team what was going on before they read it in the paper."
Upon his return to Raleigh, Green certainly didn't need a road map to help him with directions. The 1976 NC State graduate played both football and baseball for the Wolfpack.
"I was probably a better baseball player than football player," said Green, who helped the Pack win a back-to-back ACC baseball titles in 1973 and '74. "In football, I came in as a quarterback and was moved to defensive back. I had some difficult times during my football career; I lost my father during my junior year. In all truth I was mainly a special teams guy. Most of my quality playing time was spent on the baseball field."
But perhaps unbeknownst to him at the time, Green was learning a lot about his future profession from his head coach, Lou Holtz. And his position coach was a former Pack linebacker by the name of Chuck Amato.
"The intensity level, the detailed outlook that he had and just the enthusiasm that he had about coaching the game are what I remember from the early '70's," Green said of Amato. "He was a great teacher and still is. He's been a great teacher of the game for the last 30 years."
Two years after graduating from NC State, Green became a graduate assistant coach. From there, he bounced around at places like LSU (secondary coach in 1980), Southern University (defensive coordinator from 1981-'82) and Southern Nash High School (head coach 1983).
Following two years on the Auburn staff, Green made his first return to NC State when he was hired as Dick Sheridan's secondary coach in 1986. In 1990, Sheridan made Green his defensive coordinator, a move that reaped major dividends. The Wolfpack finished 10th nationally in total defense in 1990, 17th in 1991 and 12th in scoring defense in 1992.
During that span, Green's defenses produced some of the nation's best defensive backs. Safeties Jesse Campbell and Mike Reid, and cornerbacks Dewayne Washington and Sebastian Savage earned All-America and All-ACC honors.
"We took a lot of pride in the defensive backs we had at that time," Green said. "That type of pride that we had during that era really helped us in recruiting. We were able to recruit guys who stepped into a unit that was getting a lot of national recognition."
When Sheridan stepped down at a hastily called news conference in the summer of 1993, Green immediately became one of the top candidates to become NC State's new head coach. It was a job he wanted but didn't get. The nod went to the Wolfpack's highly respected quarterbacks coach Mike O'Cain.
"That was a decision that was made by the people in charge of the university and I went on," Green said. "I went on to the situation at Chattanooga and spent six very good years there. Mike and his staff did a really good job here the last seven years."
Along with his head coaching duties at Chattanooga, Green added the title of athletics director in 1996.
The circle in Green's coaching career was then completed when he accepted Amato's offer to return to NC State.
Like Amato, Green is a former Wolfpack player; like Amato, he's a former Pack assistant coach; and like Amato, he preaches aggressiveness and tenacity in his coaching techniques.
"I've had a special relationship with NC State for a long time," Green said. "It's special when you can come back to the university that you love. It's an experience that any college coach would want."
Buddy-Ball is back.
