Official: Wolfpack Releases Chuck Amato (Updated 9:22pm)

'06 Football Chuck Amato General148

The News & Observer is reporting that a public statement regarding the future of N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato’s will be announced tonight, but at this point there is little reason to wait.

The NC State Football team was called for a team meeting tonight at 9pm at the Murphy Center to be officially told the news that at this point is merely a formality.

The News & Observer, ESPN, and other local media sources are all reporting the unsurprising news that Chuck Amato will not return as head coach of NC State’s football program in 2007.

SFN has already shared a detailed commentary regarding the situation that is linked here. We will have much more in the coming days.

from gopack.com

Wolfpack Releases Chuck Amato
Courtesy: NC State
Release: 11/26/2006

NC State Director of Athletics Lee Fowler has announced that head football Chuck Amato will not be retained for next season.

Amato, who has posted a 49-37 overall record and 25-31 mark in the ACC during his seven years as head coach, finished this season with a 3-9 mark and failed to qualify for postseason play for the second time in three years.

“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 Fowler. “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 years.

“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.”

NC State qualified for a postseason bowl each of Amato’s first four years at NC State, earning victory in three of those contests.However, the Wolfpack finished with losing records in 2004 and 2006.

Amato had three years remaining on his contract.

“Chuck Amato has been a part of Wolfpack football for more than four decades and as a head coach has raised our expectations and goals,” said Chancellor James L. Oblinger. “We appreciate everything that Chuck has done for the program and our student-athletes. We wish him all the best in the future; he will always be a member of the Wolfpack family.”

Fowler added that the search to find Amato’s replacement will begin immediately.

“Our search will be national in scope and we will begin the process through a search firm very quickly. I ask that all Wolfpackers join together in supporting our student-athletes and staying behind our program.”

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'06 Football Chuck Amato General

148 Responses to Official: Wolfpack Releases Chuck Amato (Updated 9:22pm)

  1. class of 63 11/26/2006 at 10:13 PM #

    Do they let Annabelle use the fax machine?

  2. bb1983 11/26/2006 at 10:24 PM #

    The scroll was on ESPN, ESPN.com has it, 850 has it. When will it be official from NCSU??

  3. ushum 11/26/2006 at 10:30 PM #

    thanks for all you have done Chuck, I really appreciate it…

  4. packpigskinfan23 11/26/2006 at 10:30 PM #

    if Cowher is out… and Amato dosnt get canned…

    he gets one year to redeam his name… and Cohwer gets the job after…

    maybe.

    I still think Amato is done for.

  5. packpigskinfan23 11/26/2006 at 10:33 PM #

    alright!!! its out… just heard it on the tube as well….

    sorry for the last post..

    the page is slow, for obvious reasons.

  6. Buddygreen 11/26/2006 at 10:35 PM #

    Thanks to Chuck for what he did do for the program, I wish him well in future endeavors. Time to part ways and jump on supporting a new coach and to keep supporting the program. Let us all not bash Amato in the future. You can never say he didn’t give effort and his teams didn’t quit. Plus he is one of us! Best wishes to you Mr. Amato!

  7. highstick 11/26/2006 at 10:38 PM #

    Honestly, I sincerely wish Chuck the best! Can’t say the same for Foulup though and hope he’s part of the departing package!

  8. 98st8 11/26/2006 at 10:39 PM #

    ^ I echo that sentiment… his teams never quit and had a lot of heart. I wish him nothing but the best. Thank you Chuck

  9. packpigskinfan23 11/26/2006 at 10:42 PM #

    yea… I think I am more nervous about the Fowler situation then anything.

  10. vtpackfan 11/26/2006 at 10:43 PM #

    Good luck Chuck. He will probably land on his feet and be building a solid defensive side of the ball somewhere in college football in no time. Should’nt Charlie Weiss be looking towards next season with no Brady Quinn real soon. Shucks, you’re a good egg Charlie “the chest” Brown.

  11. Your AD, Lee Fowler 11/26/2006 at 10:50 PM #

    I hope there is a place for Amato at NC State after this is over, although I don’t think AD is the spot. We should all take a long view of the situation and remember the grass hill, the antiquated scoreboard, the trailer in the sky, the old Finley fieldhouse, and the low budget everythings that characterized NC State football until his arrival. Chuck Amato, primarily, changed all of that. I firmly believe that the right coach can win 10+ games with the personnel he will inherit. We could not say the same when Amato came. For that, his tenure has netted out positive for the program.

    Thank you coach.

  12. bb1983 11/26/2006 at 10:51 PM #

    Itd be a golden time to head out to the Murphy center, bring a microphone and a camera, and get some journalism done but i’m too damn tired.

  13. c6by66 11/26/2006 at 10:57 PM #

    Chuck,

    We’re going to miss you…the true NCSU fans understand….as for FUF, I can only say that he is more of an embarrasment to us that Baddour is to UNX…God only knows which low life EX coach, now working the sidelines for podunk TV, will be asked to lead the mighty pack….

    I just wish the Chancellor and the BOT would schedule a PC tomorrow announcing a NEW direction for the AD’s office.

    Chuck, we enjoyed your enthusiasm, your sincerity and shared your dreams…Good luck wherever you go and in whatever you choose…

    You and Bunting are a rare breed. I watched you on the field last night with the seniors. That was a sign of class…the “loyal” fans who did not want to come out or gave away their tickets did NOT see how you honored the seniors and their family. That was one of the classiest and unselfish moments of the season. We ended up at the bottom…where the pre-season pollsters said we would be. We should have lost the FSU and BC games and won some of the others…therefore, the howling “supporters” would have been happy. Your downfall was getting the team up for those games and getting everyone to believe we were going to Jacksonville….

    We will miss you….good luck from a fellow ‘Vette driver…

  14. gopack968 11/26/2006 at 10:58 PM #

    If Fowler and the BOT has engineered a Chuck out/Cowher in smooth move with no one getting wind of it until the very end then I am very impressed.

    If we are in for another FAA monitoring, 6 week-long, gut-wrenching, nail-biting, we look dumb to everyone else, adventure then…

  15. beowolf 11/26/2006 at 11:06 PM #

    Will I miss Chuck Amato? I’m not going to miss what we’ve seen these last three years, no. I hate sloppy, undisciplined, uninspired play. I won’t miss the worst offensive play calling in modern memory (DUKE scored 44 points on UNC).

    But — I have been missing the Chuck Amato of his first three seasons … well-discipline teams that fought hard, scored on defense and special teams, lit up opposing defenses, and never said die. The Chuck Amato who made us dream. Not the Chuck Amato who gave us nightmares.

    I still don’t know what happened between 2002 and now. I don’t think anyone knows.

  16. Ernie Myers 11/26/2006 at 11:06 PM #

    “Class of 63” & the rest of you:
    Shut up about my wife…

    http://www.gopack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9200&ATCLID=522918

  17. beowolf 11/26/2006 at 11:10 PM #

    Just to reiterate, Duke scored 44 points on UNC, we scored 9.

    DUKE scored five times more points against UNC than we did.

    Frigging DUKE has an offensive coordinator who can score points, and with Duke FB talent.

  18. wolfpacker 11/26/2006 at 11:16 PM #

    Chuck’s Problem was his ego! Hopefully this will put him in chuck! When he came to NC STATE, he surrounded himself with an awesome lineup of all-star assistants. Since losing Chow, things went down hill. With his latest clown as OC, we went off a cliff and the program has fallen apart.

    All I can say is good luck Chuck, thanks for all you have done, but LOSE THE EGO, you have proven to be a loser in the ACC!

  19. NCStateDud92 11/26/2006 at 11:20 PM #

    It is official, check GoPack.com, He Gone!

  20. ushum 11/26/2006 at 11:27 PM #

    statefans is saying they think we have hired Neinas….

  21. BorntoHowl 11/26/2006 at 11:30 PM #

    Information coming from the Weiseger Brown Center:

    It has long been known that Fowler’s prime directive is to balance the cash flow before considering anything else. Lee and Chuck have been secretly enacting a marketing scheme to insure the athletic dept stays in the black.

    With Chuck’s new 4 year contract, State will drop games next year against the Citadel, Southern Miss, and ECU and play Notre Dame and Southern Cal and Texas. The following year we will pick up Michigan, Penn State and LSU followed by Auburn, Ohio State, and Florida. Unnamed sources said Fowler was overheard saying if we’re going to lose anyway, let’s make some money. Contracts are set up as a home game for them but not for us. Our ticket sales can drop to 17,500 per game and we still net more bottom line dollars with the new contract. We’ll have 5 home games each year, so the lower attendance will impact the bottom line even less.

    A BOT member commended Fowler for his foresight in the final decision in the selection of the new red back seats in the stadium to reduce the aluminum glare and give the appearance of more fans.

    The athletic departments of the above schools were approached and accepted the following conditions. In the first half State will run the ball. You (the opponent) can put anywhere from 8-11 in the box to stop the play
    At times State will throw the bubble screen, but that presents you with the opportunity with a photo op where a linebacker explodes on the player coming out of the backfield for highlight reel tackles. In the second half your defense reverts to a cover 2 scheme. Since it was implemented by Va Tech in Trestman’s first game at half time, it has been validated with 3 quarterbacks that there are no plays in the playbook that can beat it.

    There have been two problems this year to date this year in testing out this game plan. In the BC game, the script on the last play was for the safety to intercept the ball, unfortunately he initially went after the wrong reciever and couldn’t catch up with the play. We had another mistake during the FSU game where Weatherford’s and Evan’s script somehow got switched before the game and it wasn’t caught until it was too late when Weatherford threw the final interception.

    Our athletic department will also do gratis promos for your team also like this year in Chapel Hill a printer was contracted to provide bumper stickers to heel fans that says “We may be bad, but at least we beat State”

    This post has been fully substantiated by rumors.

  22. Wolfpack4ever 11/26/2006 at 11:48 PM #

    Buddygreen Says: “Thanks to Chuck for what he did do for the program, I wish him well in future endeavors. Time to part ways and jump on supporting a new coach and to keep supporting the program. Let us all not bash Amato in the future. You can never say he didn’t give effort and his teams didn’t quit. Plus he is one of us! Best wishes to you Mr. Amato!”

    Well said.

    Do we have to stop bashing Fowler. That would not be fair. as some of us can’t think of anything original to say.

  23. old13 11/26/2006 at 11:49 PM #

    While it’s not actually Foulup-proof, at least a search firm will be used to find the replacement! Now all we need is a PC tomorrow announcing the firing of IKB!!

  24. pack7483 11/26/2006 at 11:49 PM #

    IKB?

  25. sautz 11/26/2006 at 11:52 PM #

    Fowler did say in the press release they hired a search firm, so it may be Neinas, but even if not at least its not just Fowlup cold calling every coach in the country to gauge their interest.

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