Thank you, Coach Amato

Coach Chuck Amato passed away at the age of 80 on Monday at his home in Raleigh. Amato hailed from Easton, Pennsylvania, a small town nestled between PA and NJ that rests along the Lehigh and Delaware rivers.

Amato was recruited nationally in two sports: football and wrestling, and initially considered other schools before ultimately landing on NC State.

His initial reasoning for looking elsewhere was driven by a desire to not follow in his brother’s footsteps and to try pursuing both sports at the collegiate level. Once Amato got the green light that he could do both at NC State, it was a done deal.

Amato would go on to become a two-time ACC champion wrestler while also helping the football team win a share of the conference title in 1965.

His decision to come to NC State first as a player and then as a head coach in the early 2000s set the program on an upward trajectory.

He played linebacker from 1965-67 and is known for instituting the famous “White Shoes Defense” in 1967 as a homage to NFL legend Joe Namath.

As a team captain that season, Amato inspired his fellow defensive players to paint their shoes white before the Wolfpack’s meeting with UNC. They’d go on to beat the Tar Heels 13-7 and then rattled off an 8-0 start that season.

Amato’s defense was a focal point of that team, and it helped the program earn a #3 ranking that season. No other State team has come close to achieving that ranking.

Amato had an impressive coaching career, including as a longtime assistant at Florida State University from 1982 to 1999 and then from 2007 to 2009.

Amato served under legendary FSU Head Coach Bobby Bowden, and the pair would go on to win two national championships together while coaching the Seminoles.

Amato came back home to Raleigh at the start of the 2000 season. He is still the only football player turned head coach in the school’s history.

His competitive spirit and relentless drive to succeed helped infuse a winning attitude and culture within the Wolfpack program.

He spent seven seasons with the Wolfpack, with his best one coming in 2002, when Philip Rivers (QB) led the program to an 11-3 record that season.

His Wolfpack made slight work of the Fighting Irish in the 2003 Gator Bowl (28-6) and finished the season with a #12 ranking in the AP Poll.

I was born into the NC State family and have seen the fluctuations with the program over the years.

I was in high school when Chuck Amato was hired to the program. For the first time in my life, it felt like NC State found a winner, and the fact that Amato was homegrown was an even bigger plus.

Known for his raspy voice, puffed-out chest, and signature Oakley sunglasses, no one was cooler than Chuck Amato. No one came close.

Coach Amato brought a real swagger and confidence to NC State, and it fed into his players and staff. During the 2002 season, it felt like the Wolfpack expected to win every game. Amato replaced the “hope for a win” mentality with a full-blown belief that victory is the only outcome.

Amato’s offense had some real star power on that 2002 team, led by Philip Rivers, T.A. McLendon (RB), and Jerricho Cotchery (WR). Those guys were fun to watch, as it felt like they could score at will. I’d even try to emulate McLendon’s moves as a running back myself in suburban Chicagoland.

Throughout those years, Amato’s defenses were always loaded with playmakers as well, including Mario Williams (DL), Dantonio Burnette (LB), Terrance Holt (DB), Levar Fisher (DB), and Adrian Wilson (DB), to name a few.

Many of these players would become household names in the NFL.

Chuck Amato will be remembered for a lot of things, and I’m sure football is just a small part of what made him special to the people who knew him well.

But I’ll never forget meeting Coach Amato at his annual camp at NC State when I was a football camper. His mere presence demanded attention, but he couldn’t have been any sweeter to us.

I remember all the campers gathering around Amato as he took out his 1999 National Championship ring for all of us to gaze at and admire.

I wanted to win one of those rings.

I wanted to win one for Coach Amato.

But while my dream of playing for Coach Amato at NC State was never fulfilled, I appreciate everything he did for the program during his time as an athlete and head coach.

I’ll never forget those memories of Coach Amato transforming NC State football into a winning program.

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