Former N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato is returning to Florida State, where he spent 18 seasons from 1982-1999 as a defensive coach, according to Florida State.
During his stint with the Seminoles, Amato was part of a national championship team in 1999, and he spent 14 of his 18 years as an assistant head coach. He took over the head coaching position for the Wolfpack a year after the Seminoles won the National Championship.
Amato said he is eager to start coaching again at Florida State.
“I’m excited about being back on board at Florida State and the opportunity coach Bowden is giving me,” Amato said in the statement.
“I’m looking forward to working with coach Bowden, coach Andrews, Odell (Haggins) and John (Lilly) again as well as the rest of the staff. I’m also looking forward to working with everyone on the support staff at FSU. I know everybody there and we are so familiar with everything so I’m just very excited about that.”
From 2000-2006, Amato went to five bowl games in his seven seasons, winning four — including a 28-6 Gator Bowl victory against Notre Dame in 2002. That team finished No. 12 in the nation and 11-3 overall. For his career, Amato finished 49-37.
Last season, in Amato’s last year as coach, State started the season 3-2 with wins against Boston College and Florida State. State would then lose its next seven games, including losses to North Carolina and East Carolina to wrap up the season. He was officially fired from the University a day after the loss to the Pirates.
Bowden said the move should help the Seminoles become one of the top coaching staffs in the country.
“With Chuck Amato accepting the position we have completed our coaching staff and I could not be more pleased,” Bowden said in the release.
“Chuck’s return to Mickey Andrew’s staff with Odell Haggins and Jody Allen along with the new offensive coaches and John Lilly should give us as good a coaching staff as there is in the country. I feel like the blend of maturity and youth will work perfectly for us. Chuck will fill the last void we had in our staff and allow us not to miss a beat.”
The move comes days after Bowden announced LSU’s Jimbo Fisher as offensive coordinator. Fisher, a former offensive coordinator for LSU, expressed interest in the N.C. State coaching vacancy this off-season and interviewed for the offensive coordinator position two seasons ago, which was eventually offered to Marc Trestman.
Other than former safety Garland Heath, who declined to comment on Amato, all attempts to reach selected members of the football team were unsuccessful Wednesday night.
