Former NC State football coach Chuck Amato has died at 80, leaving behind a run in Raleigh that included winning seasons, bowl trips and some of the biggest names in Wolfpack history.
Amato had been battling throat cancer and spent several months in hospice care before his death. For NC State fans, he was more than a coach; he was “Chuck the Chest,” a bigger-than-life presence who became one of the defining figures of the program during his time in charge.
His seven seasons as head coach stretched from 2000 through 2006, and four of those years featured Philip Rivers at quarterback. NC State went to five bowl games under Amato, finished 49-37 overall and 25-31 in ACC play, and won four of those bowl appearances. His best season came in 2002, when the Wolfpack went 11-3 and beat Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.
The roster talent during that stretch was significant. Amato’s teams helped produce more than 20 NFL draft picks, including first-rounders Philip Rivers, Mario Williams, Manny Lawson and John McCargo. Williams became the only player in Wolfpack history to go No. 1 overall in the modern NFL era after a standout season in Amato’s defense, going first in the 2006 NFL Draft.
Before he was leading the program, Amato was part of it. He played linebacker at NC State under Earle Edwards from 1965-67, served as a captain on defense as a senior in 1967 and won multiple ACC championships as a heavyweight wrestler, going undefeated in 1966 and 1968.
Amato also got his start in coaching back in Raleigh, first as a graduate assistant under Al Michaels and Lou Holtz. He later worked as a defensive backs coach under Holtz and as defensive coordinator under Bo Rein until 1979.
His career then took him to Arizona for two seasons before a long and successful run at Florida State under Bobby Bowden. From 1982 to 1999, the two worked side by side for nearly two decades. Amato coached the defensive line for four years, then became associate head coach while working with either the defensive line or linebackers before leaving for NC State ahead of the 2000 season.
Amato’s coaching stop after NC State came at Akron, where he finished in 2017. Afterward, he returned home to Raleigh and hosted The Chuck Amato Show from Amedeo's, the same room where live shows were later held.
His influence extended beyond the sideline, too. During his Raleigh tenure, assistant coaches like Curt Cignetti, Manny Diaz, Doc Holliday, Marc Trestman and Norm Chow all went on to become head coaches.
Amato was beloved by the NC State family, and those close to the program remembered the voice, the personality and the way he filled a room the moment he walked in. He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and daughters LuGina and Selena.
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NC State Mourns A Program Icon Fans Will Never Forget
Chuck Amatos name has long been woven into NC State football history, from his days as a player to his time steering the program from the sideline. He was part of the fabric of Wolfpack athletics in more ways than one, with a footprint that stretched beyond football and into wrestling, and his influence was felt in a program that still remembers the identity he helped create.
Amatos impact in Raleigh included the kind of signature touches fans never forget, from the White Shoes Defense to the momentum he helped build in the early 2000s. Before and after his NC State years, he also built a decorated coaching rsum at Florida State, where he won two national championships as an assistant under Bobby Bowden, leaving behind a career that resonated far beyond one stop or one team. [Read more 🡒]