Amato Headed Back to Tallahassee

The day that Chuck Amato was fired as the head football coach at N.C. State, a lot of people figured it would be a matter of time before he rejoined Bobby Bowden’s staff at Florida State. There was no question that Amato was not ready to give up football, and a return to FSU -- where he was an assistant for 18 years -- seemed to make sense. He and Bowden always had a good relationship.

On Wednesday, it became official, Chuck Amato will become something called the executive associate head coach and linebackers coach. I must say I’ve never heard of that title, but what it means is they really want Amato and have given him a respectful title.

Amato loves to talk, and some of that talk got him in trouble at State. But he has been very quiet since he was fired after seven seasons as the Wolfpack coach. You know that hurt him deeply. He figured he would be at his alma mater forever, but the program reached its peak on Jan. 1, 2003 with the Gator Bowl win over Notre Dame and slowly started a downward spiral that culminated in last season’s awful 3-9 record.

I would think that Amato would go back to Florida State with a purpose. The Seminoles are no longer the power they were when he left. Amato knows how to recruit in Florida, and I would think he would still have that touch and will want to get rid of that bitter taste left by his dismissal at State.

It's interesting that he’ll be going up against his former assistant Doc Holliday, who’s now with the new national champion, Florida. They battled for players previously when Amato was at FSU and Holliday was at West Virginia. I would think Holliday at the moment has the upper hand.

Amato will return to a program desperately needing a spark. Offensively, they think they’ve found a top-flight coordinator in Jimbo Fisher. Now they’re hoping Amato will come roaring in with fire and brimstone and help light a match under a program that is coming off a mediocre 7-6 record.

“I’m excited about being back on board at Florida State and the opportunity Coach Bowden is giving me,” said Amato. “I know everybody there and we are so familiar with everything so I’m just very excited about that.”

At age 60, will Chuck Amato have the passion to become an assistant again after running his own program for seven years?

I think that answer is a definite yes. Amato, if anything, is a competitor. He was a part of Florida State football when they were kings. And after what happened to him at N.C. State, he will be more than ready to prove that the Wolfpack made the wrong decision.

Chuck Amato back at Florida State will be good for both the man and the school.