Chuck Amato, the longtime Florida State assistant football coach who went on to lead his alma mater at N.C. State for seven seasons, has died at the age of 80.
Amato died early Monday at his Raleigh home under hospice care, the school announced on its athletics website. Amato had previously battled throat cancer and eventually lost his voice.
Amato led the Wolfpack from 2000-06, highlighted by the four-year career of eventual NFL star quarterback Philip Rivers and an 11-win season in 2002 that stands as the program's only season with double-digit wins in its history. He did it with flair, from his barrel-chested bravado to attention-grabbing choices for sunglasses and sneakers as he roamed the sideline for the program he played for in the 1960s.
“A huge personality, a great mentor to coaches and players alike, and a great alumnus,” current Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said Monday, noting that Amato had come to practices and sat in meetings earlier in Doeren's 14-year tenure.
Among those offering tributes on Monday were North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, who remembered Amato as “NC State to his core” in a social media post. Retired NFL coach Bill Cowher thanked Amato for “your influence and guidance in shaping me as a young LB” during Cowher's playing days at N.C. State while Amato was a Wolfpack assistant in the 1970s.
Earlier Monday, Duke coach Manny Diaz remembered Amato for giving him a start in coaching as an FSU graduate assistant.
“Wouldn't be standing here today if it wasn't for Chuck Amato,” Diaz said during a news conference in Durham, adding: “I don't know of anybody who loved N.C. State University more than Chuck Amato did.”
The Easton, Pennsylvania, native was a Wolfpack linebacker from 1965-67, which included N.C. State sharing an Atlantic Coast Conference title in 1965 under coach Earle Edwards. Amato was also an ACC champion wrestler.
Amato would later spend nine seasons as a Wolfpack assistant before later moving to FSU, working as a defensive assistant under famed coach Bobby Bowden during the Seminoles' 1990s peak that included national titles in 1993 and 1999.
It was after that latter championship run that he returned to N.C. State as head coach. His first game was a rain-soaked double-overtime win against Arkansas State, with Rivers starting as a true freshman on his way to a four-year career as the Wolfpack's QB.
Amato went 49-37 at N.C. State, winning five bowl games as well as handing FSU and Bowden its first-ever ACC home loss in 2001 — the Seminoles’ 10th season in the league — and coaching a No. 1 overall NFL draft pick in defensive end Mario Williams. There were off-field gains, too, as the school invested in upgrades and renovations to Carter-Finley Stadium as it sought to capitalize on the early buzz from Amato's return.
He was fired after a 3-9 season in 2006. He returned to Bowden's last staffs at FSU (2007-09), then had a stint as Akron's associate head coach before retiring in 2018.
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