10/19/2026 05:09:00
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10/19 17:07 CDT Former NC State football coach, longtime Florida State
assistant Chuck Amato dies at 80
Former NC State football coach, longtime Florida State assistant Chuck Amato
dies at 80
By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
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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