I don't think many are surprised that Chuck Amato is out as the head football coach at North Carolina State. We had so many tell us over the past couple of weeks that Amato had lost much of his support among the major donors of the university and the dismissal was inevitable after season-ending losses, first to UNC and then Saturday night at home to East Carolina where Carter-Finley was filled with far too many of those wearing the purple and gold. There wasn't a person I talked with on that night who felt Amato would keep his job.
That ECU loss ended State's season at 3-9 and the seven game losing streak is the longest the Wolfpack has suffered through since 1959. In his seventh season as head coach, Amato's program was not headed in the right direction. After State was upset by Akron in week two of the season, I wrote in this blog that I didn't feel that N.C. State in Chuck Amato's seventh season should lose a game like this and they shouldn't. Plus, a program that is going to compete for championships in a coaches' seventh season definitely shouldn't go 3-9.
Amato may have been his own worst enemy. What made him popular in the beginning may have been his undoing in the end. He was cocky and flamboyant. He was boastful and emotional. You can talk big if you like when you win.
Wolfpack fans loved all of that when he was winning led by quarterback Philip Rivers. He talked about winning ACC championships and making the Wolfpack a National Championship contender. He bragged about the recruits he was bringing in from the football haven of Florida. He told State fans to dream big and they did and many gave plenty of money to renovate Carter-Finley Stadium. State fans bought into Amato.
At first, it appeared it was a possibility. His peak season was that 11-3 season in 2002 and that Gator Bowl win over Notre Dame. But then the gradual decline came. Even in Rivers' last season, State dropped five games. To me, that was a telling sign and then came records of 5-6, 7-5, and then this years' disaster.
And this year was a disaster. So many crucial mistakes, so many foolish penalties. Key fumbles, interceptions, and so many times that undisciplined play that drove so many crazy. As the losses mounted, many of them close, the anger of the fans rose. Amato kept telling State fans how close they were, inches away, he'd say but his bravado was wearing thin. 'State Nation' began to tune him out and at the end, he seemed to have very little support.
And when State lost to Carolina for a third straight time, there was just the sense that the end was near. It had to be.
Amato couldn't keep a staff together and that had to hurt. Four offensive coordinators in seven years disrupted any kind of continuity and the Wolfpack had so much trouble scoring points this season. We heard from many sources that there was such a staff turnover over the years because he was so hard to work for. Someone who has known Amato for many years told me that if you've ever been around Chuck Amato for any length of time, you'd better learn to listen because you'll never get in a word yourself.
Amato did bring enthusiasm to Wolfpack football. He got State fans excited and there's nothing wrong in dreaming big and reaching for the sky. No, there's not. But bigger talk means more is expected. He was like Tantalus of Greek mythology, standing in the region of torment, who couldn't quite reach the wonderful fruit just out of his reach. Thus the word tantalize and tantalize Wolfpack fans Amato did. He had them dreaming of competing with the best, but in the end he couldn't quite reach out and grab the glory he so desired and the distance to the top, which, at one time, seemed so close, began little by little to slip further and further away.
Over the seven years, Amato won 49 games and took State to five bowl games. But he couldn't get it done in the ACC winning just 25 and losing 31. And he had a losing record against Carolina.
It started out so positively, a former Wolfpack star player who helped mighty Florida State win two national titles as an assistant, coming home to rebuild his alma mater's football program. He believed and dreamed and he had so many others doing the same.
He told Wolfpack fans trust in me and this program will be among the elite. In the end, he couldn't deliver on his promises and now the Chuck Amato era is over.
