They always say famous deaths happen in threes. Apparently that is true of firing coaches in the ACC. According to Andrew Jones at the Wilmington Star and 850 the Buzz, NC State is set to announce via press release that Chuck Amato will not be retained as head coach of the Wolfpack following the 21-16 loss to ECU on Saturday which was the seventh straight for the Pack this season.
Ever since the loss to UNC over a week ago it became painfully obvious that this is where NC State was going. Amato's situation had come to parallel John Bunting's in so many ways that there was no reasonable person who would expect them to keep Amato. Add to this situation the fact that UNC hired Butch Davis which raised the coaching ante in Triangle football. When it was all said and done for Amato it came down to being unable to win after the Philip Rivers years and following the massive renovation of the football facilities which is often tied to Amato. Amato delivered many of the "big time" aspects of a major college football program off the field but it never translated to wins. Amato also had a terrible tendency to look like a total buffoon in front of the media as seen when he complained about Akron non-qualifiers two days after the Pack lost to the Zips in Raleigh. The last three seasons, two of them losing, have been riddled with inconsistent play at QB, inefficient offensive production, poor discipline on the field, and a general failure to show up for games against teams not named Florida State. And three straight losses to UNC when the Pack was the better team on paper each time did not help him either.
As for the timing of the annoucement, NC State was handcuffed into doing it now because UNC is introducing Butch Davis on Monday and NC State is hosting Michigan as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in basketball so the last thing the rather inept folks in charge of PR in west Raleigh want to do is trample all over the only positive thing you have going in either of your two major sports.
So best wishes Chuck, I would say you have been a worthy opponent but you were 3-4 against UNC so that kind of means we owned you.
UPDATE:
NC State made it official via a press release:
“Chuck Amato has been a part of Wolfpack football for more than four decades and as a head coach has raised our expectations and goals,” said Chancellor James L. Oblinger. “We appreciate everything that Chuck has done for the program and our student-athletes. We wish him all the best in the future; he will always be a member of the Wolfpack family."
Fowler added that the search to find Amato’s replacement will begin immediately.
“Our search will be national in scope and we will begin the process through a search firm very quickly. I ask that all Wolfpackers join together in supporting our student-athletes and staying behind our program."
Looks like we might be hearing Chuck Neinas' name again. Also, on the upside for Wolfpack fans is that Lee Fowler has been taken out of the equation.
At least they opted not to do the dog and pony show like UNC did with the fired coach and the AD who fired him sitting beside each other taking questions.