North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Amato Positive To The End
11/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
By Tony Haynes
RALEIGH, NC -- The atmosphere inside the
Yet in the northeast corner office on the fourth floor, it was impossible not to hear that familiar, enthusiastic, raspy voice of Chuck Amato. Only moments after it was announced that his seven-year reign as the Wolfpack’s head football coach had come to an end, Amato was encouraging a few players who had stopped by to take care of business in the classroom, work hard and never forget to pursue their dreams.
In so many ways, Amato’s tone was no different than it was on the day he was hired to take over the program of his alma mater in January, 2000. On that day, he dared to dream that NC State could have one of the nation’s elite programs. It always occurred to me that Amato seemed to be at his best during the toughest of times. And the news he received on Sunday night was a professional lowpoint for the 60-year old coach.
Even earlier in the day when he knew that his tenure at NC State could possibly be coming to an end, Amato strolled into the TV studio at the Murphy Center, cracked a few one-liners and taped his TV show as if his team had just won its last seven games of the regular season instead of losing them all.
Was he disappointed about the 3-9 season that had just ended? You bet. No one could have been more devastated by all the crazy, quirky things that had happened week after week down the stretch. But Amato’s unique ability to stay positive even during the most dismal times is probably the only reason his team continued to battle and compete week after week. And it was certainly a big factor in last year’s resurrection when the Pack recovered to win a bowl game and go 7-5 after getting off to a 2-4 start.
“No Wolfpack fan can question the excitement and enthusiasm that Chuck Amato brought to the NC State football program when he came here in 2000,” said athletics director Lee Fowler in a statement announcing Amato’s dismissal. “His dreams have become our dreams and that has translated itself into our great new facilities, record ticket sales and five bowl appearances in seven year. However, because the results on the field in two of the last three seasons have fallen far below where we feel our program should be at this point, we have decided to take the program in a new direction.”
In some ways, Amato ultimately became a victim of his own high, unwavering standards. While he never guaranteed national prominence for NC State in football, he did lay out a vision and a blueprint for what it would take to at least have a chance of getting there. That vision included facility enhancements to Carter-Finley Stadium that had long been overdue by the time he arrived in
Articulating his dreams with a passion that many Wolfpack fans hadn’t seen since former basketball coach Jim Valvano, Amato energized and mobilized a fan base that donated more money, bought more tickets and made Carter-Finley on its best nights one of the ACC’s most intimidating venues.
“When I came to
He’s right. Neither Amato nor any of his predecessors have been successful in their attempts to make NC State a consistent, national player on the football field. In those 100-plus years of football Amato talked about, the Wolfpack is exactly 12 games over the .500 mark all-time.
As has been repeated time and time again since the great Philip Rivers left after the 2003 season, NC State has failed to find an offensive identity. Over the last three years, offensive production has continued to drop off. This season, the impact of penalties, turnovers, dropped passes and dropped interceptions was only exacerbated in so many games that could have gone either way.
Ten of the Pack’s 12 games, in fact, weren’t decided until the final moments. Along the way, NC State could have easily beaten
Amato’s legacy will be the wonderful facilities that will look quite enticing to potential coaching candidates. Also during Amato’s seven years, NC State cracked the often difficult recruiting code on defensive lineman, bringing in the type of big, fast, skilled pass rushers and run stoppers that are often so hard to come by. With an emphasis on aggression and speed, Amato bucked a historical trend by getting the Wolfpack to the point where it could play good defense year after year. The 2002 unit finished No. 1 in the ACC. In 2004, NC State led the nation in total defense and was ranked 8th the next year. And even this season, after losing a total of six players to the NFL, the Wolfpack still had a respectable defense.
Unfortunately, the stars were never aligned quite right for Amato and his program. In 2003, Rivers guided an offense that averaged 470 yards and 37 points per game, the best numbers in school history. NC State went 7-5 that season because a young, inexperienced defense was still a year away.
Had fate allowed Amato to put the 2003 offense with the 2004 defense, his dreams of national prominence probably would have come true.
While his relationship with the media was somewhat uneven and stormy, Amato was about as good as it gets for those of us who are involved with the Wolfpack Sports Network. Along with allowing us tremendous access, he was always cooperative and eager to do what was necessary to make our radio and TV productions better. Sure he made a lot of money from his radio/TV deal, but he never took an obligatory approach when asked to do something.
He was positive to the very end.
Thanks coach.
