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. Spin Wolf 11/27/2006 at 1:43 PM #

    My post above should say – “top assistant from the top college PROGRAM in the country.” FSU ain’t exactly Stanford is it? 8^)

  2. bb1983 11/27/2006 at 1:50 PM #

    I think our expectations are already tempered. I think that’s what is causing the lack of wins. We start complaining about losing before we’ve even lost and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Then the only person t oblame is our coach. Amato and his players fell because we analyzed them too much before they had a chance to prove themselves. Look what Roy Williams did at UNC. He had the whole school saying “This guy is going to win a Championship his first year” and it happened. When he loses, nobody calls for his job. When he wins its amazing. Here at NCSU when we win its expected, and when we lose its expected, then when we lose its too much so we fire the coach. Positive reinforcement works a whole hell of a lot better than negative. Coaches should strive to win and be afraid of not getting attention, instead of striving to not lose and being afraid of losing their jobs. We need an attitude adjustment to make a successful program with or without BC or CTC.

  3. BoKnowsNCS71 11/27/2006 at 1:54 PM #

    I’d guess no chance for Cowher. Timing is bad, still under contract, and too risky. Plus would not be able to come here until the end of the NFL season, woudl have to recruit staff and take the NCAA test.

    Norm Chow — until the ASU job opened up, I would have given his some hope. ALthough Danny White is well known there. He’s a favorite because of Phillip and his record of being an offensive coach. But on the down side he has no head coaching or recruiting expertise in this area of the county. Also, I still think his family lives back in Utah or California. He’s a west coast guy.

    Schiano — hard to say with him. Rutgers Alum but money talks. Might be wooed by the jobs at Bama or Miami.

    Jimbo Fisher — would like him but as I recall — Bo Rein left NCSU to go to LSU. Unless Jimbo is tired of the SEC, beads, Mardi Gras, hurricanes, and national championship games — just don’t see it.

    Rich Rodriquez — Isn’t he a WV alum? Visions of BB coach John Beilein — as soon as we ask to talk to him, they will jack up Rich’s salary as high as the Beilein’s and pull him back in. If he does not already have an iron clad contract now.

    Most likely — Paul Johnson would be my guess — to bring in the option, lots of offense and no defense. High scoring games, excitement and who knows. And then there’s Coker.

    Worst case scenario — we go through a series of offers and losses until Shane Montgomery reluctantly agrees to leave Miami of Ohio and come home. Then we will have completed the circle in BB and FB.

  4. pack7483 11/27/2006 at 2:00 PM #

    just say no to Shane……

  5. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 2:03 PM #

    all this said…. Johnson should no doubt be number 3 on the “list”

  6. Yosef 11/27/2006 at 2:07 PM #

    wral-tv reported last night (11pm) that state indeed hired chuck neinas

  7. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 2:08 PM #

    ^good stuff.

  8. redfred2 11/27/2006 at 2:19 PM #

    If something is in the works and Cowher has already let his intentions be known, I have to wonder when the proper time will roll around for him to announce it in Pittsburgh? It could be a painfully long wait for us, watching as the other potentials get snapped up, and all the while pondering back about what took place in a similar situation justs months ago.

  9. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/27/2006 at 2:20 PM #

    I think we are happy with Chuck Neinas so that we don’t go after Mack Brown of Texas, humiliated by Tommy West of Memphis prior to being turned down on national TV by analyst Lou Holtz before reluctantly taking Shane Montgomery.

  10. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 2:27 PM #

    ^hahahaha… good one!

    I would think Cowher wouldnt be too slow to let any intent be know, seeing as the season is pretty much over for the Steelers…. but then again, you cant let your team just fall apart like that. Maybe he lets the head guys know, but noone else….. I dunno… a month from now and it will be about the end of the season…

    like I said… wont be too disapointed if we dont hear anything till after X-mas. in fact I would probably feel BETTER if that were the case.

  11. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 11/27/2006 at 2:29 PM #

    George O’Leary

  12. Wolfpack4ever 11/27/2006 at 2:36 PM #

    redfred2 Says: “He can’t hire, he doesn’t advise, if he does, he does it wrong, he doesn’t promote the programs or the university properly. Tell me Wolfpack4ever, what does your buddy do up there?”

    Just like you, redfred, I don’t know either. But I can guess that looking to see what any manager *does* is not going to produce much. Maybe his job is to take the blame for everything that happens that the fans don’t like because he *is* responsible. Lee Fowler’s claim to fame may be being the scapegoat for everything that we don’t approve of, like and anything else our imaginations can conjure up.

    One thing he had best manage is get an exception from the BOG for a salary exception to hire all these well established, high priced coaches BEFORE we offer negotiate with them or LF will have to endure the wrath of SFN for “Fowling up” and backing down “on his word” like he was falsely accused of in the Barnes fiasco.

    We so blythely blame Fowlup for heading the basketball coach search without the knowledge of what HIS boss directed him to do. Some of our heads have so swollen with ego that we don’t realize or care that our opinion is not necessarily the truth. I sure hope nobody hurts themselves here patting themselves on the back.

  13. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 2:40 PM #

    ^regardless of what HIS boss told him, he still didnt handle it very well… and that has been consistant through out his stay in the Athletic Dept Offices.

  14. Wolfpack4ever 11/27/2006 at 2:44 PM #

    Red_Terrors Says: “Can you imagine what Bill Cowher would do for recruiting here at State. I mean, what high school player wouldn’t want to play for the “The Chin.”

    Is Butch’s nick name “The Chin?” According to some, all the 5-star blue-chippers would be wanting to play for Butch Davis and NCSU is condemned to play 1 and 2-star players for the rest of the century.

  15. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 2:48 PM #

    ^who is your “some”??

    and I think Bill Cowher is a bit more well known then Butch F’ing Davis

  16. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 3:02 PM #

    Chizick goes to Iowa State…. interesting. They are just droping and signing like crazy arent they?!?!?!

  17. packpigskinfan23 11/27/2006 at 3:03 PM #

    ^coaches in general that is….

  18. redfred2 11/27/2006 at 3:34 PM #

    Damnit 4ever, why did you say that? I just popped my shoulder out of joint.

  19. redfred2 11/27/2006 at 3:39 PM #

    Damnit 4ever, why did you have to go and say that? I just popped my shoulder out of joint.

  20. pack7483 11/27/2006 at 3:46 PM #

    My bride works for WTVD in Durham as the 6pm producer and she just sent me this email:

    “ACC Insider reports Bill Cowher will be the FIRST person to be offered the NC STATE job, no matter what. “

  21. Rick 11/27/2006 at 4:38 PM #

    “I think our expectations are already tempered. I think that’s what is causing the lack of wins. We start complaining about losing before we’ve even lost and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

    Please explain how fan expectations could have an impact on wether NCSU wins or loses.

  22. redfred2 11/28/2006 at 8:19 PM #

    Does anyone know who actually hired the search firm, or the number of search firms that turned Lee Fowler down beforehand? This is supposedly one of the best firms out there, so I would have to believe that Lee was turned down by others like “E-Coach”, “Coaches are us” and “Slick Willies, Pre-owned Coaches, where We’re coaching!!!” and a few other less desirables, before finally deciding on the best search firm available for the job.

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