Chuck Amato was a trusted lieutenant. He was intelligent. He cared about the person first and the player second.
If Amato said or did something, he was all-in. That's the way he lived life and coached football, including a run at FSU as assistant coach from 1982-99 in which he helped the Seminoles win a pair of national championships.
Amato, 80, passed away after a long battle with cancer, his alma mater, NC State, announced on Monday afternoon. After his first run at FSU, Amato was hired by NC State in 2000.
"I would have a hard time repaying him for what he did for us here," Bobby Bowden said of Amato in an interview with the Associated Press after NC State's hire. "Chuck is as fine a football coach as I've ever been around."
He is survived by his wife, Peggy, and twin daughters, LuGina and Selena.
Amato wore his passion for FSU on his sleeve and he was well known around the Moore Athletic Center as "coach chest." He arrived at FSU in 1982, coaching the defensive line, and later added the associate head coach title in 1986. A decade later, in 1996, he moved from the defensive line to linebackers and a young assistant, Odell Haggins, began coaching defensive tackles.
"He would make you do something over and over and over until you get it right, ‘till you can't get it wrong," Haggins said. "Put it that way, and that trait I learned from him has been with me all my life. I appreciate that he always tried to instill something in a young man that would help in his life."
The Seminoles had built a reputation under Bowden of playing anyone, anywhere, and recruits took notice and arrived in Tallahassee determined to take the program to the next level. Amato's time coincided quite well — a year after the Octoberfest season in 1981, Amato arrived and ran point as the recruiter of Dade County high schools as FSU built a pipeline of talent to Tallahassee.
"Chuck's recruiting in South Florida was a game-changer for FSU in those days," longtime FSU sports information director and interim athletics director Wayne Hogan said.
Bowden assembled quite the staff of assistants, with Amato arriving in 1982 and Mickey Andrews and Wally Burnham joining a few years later (1984). They identified talent, developed players and elevated the Seminoles to among the elites in college football with a 14-year run of top-4 finishes in the AP poll from 1987-2000.
Haggins is known for repeating the mantra of "the standard is the standard." Amato's constant encouragement to players and coaches kept them pushing forward.
"He kept you on your toes. Coach always kept you on your toes," Haggins said. "He kept you moving forward. He never would let you relax. What I mean by relax, he never let you slide backwards. He always wanted to push forward, and a lot of people didn't understand that about him. He wanted perfection. Coach Amato wanted perfection."
Haggins recalled receiving a text in December 2017, when he was elevated to interim head coach, taking over after Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M. Amato's message was simple: "You got this. You know what the standards are. BYE."
There was no need for a follow-up phone call. Said Haggins: That's how he was. And I just smiled."
Amato was in the smile business. He had a big smile and often a bigger laugh.
"I remember the first day he came to the office, he poked his head in my office and gave me this big smile and said, 'I'm Chuck.' I knew we would get along well," said Sue Hall, Bowden's longtime assistant. "He was a great dad and loved his daughters and would keep their photos on his desk and tell me about what they were into."
Burnham spent nine years working with Amato, from 1985-93, at FSU.
"Chuck was a fierce competitor and had really close relationships with the players he coached," Burnham said. "Today is a sad day for Peggy and Chuck's girls."
Todd Stroud had a unique perspective of playing nose guard for Amato at FSU from 1983-85 and then taking on roles as the strength coach at NC State and later at FSU.
“I had the privilege of playing for Chuck and working with him for over 20 years at three different institutions," Stroud said. "He was a master motivator who made his players believe they could achieve anything through hard work and toughness. He made dreams come true for countless players over the years.
"He had a certain bravado that was contagious to everyone he touched. He also had impeccable work ethic and commitment to personal discipline that he demanded from everyone on his teams. I owe everything to this man! I know that he made me a better player coach and father. I will certainly miss his crazy sense of humor and all the laughs we shared.”
Former FSU offensive coordinator and later Georgia and Miami head coach Mark Richt was also influenced by Amato in the formative years of his career.
“He was Coach Bowden‘s right hand man. He kept us organized and efficient all throughout the year,” Richt said. “Tremendous leader and excellent position coach. Was a tough, hard-nosed coach who got the best out of his players. He was a good friend.”
FSU won national titles in 1993 and a wire-to-wire 1999 season. After the Seminoles' win over Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl, Amato had the chance to say "yes" to NC State.
"My wife told me to remind you all that it took Susan Lucci 18 years to finally win an (Emmy)," Amato said when he was hired at NC State. "It took me 20 years to win my Oscar: The head football coaching position at this school."
Amato was 49-37 in seven seasons at NC State, including an 11-3 season in 2002 that ended with a Gator Bowl win. But he also quite often had FSU's number, claiming victories in 2001, '02, '05 and '06.
It was the Wolfpack's last 10-win season, a feat neither Tom O'Brien (2007-2012) nor Dave Doeren (2013-current) have enjoyed.
After his departure from NC State, Amato returned to FSU to coach alongside Bowden and Andrews. Amato was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2009 and also stepped down with Bowden's forced retirement following the 2009 season. But Amato returned to the sideline in 2012 at Akron as defensive coordinator on Terry Bowden's coaching staff for a few more seasons.
Amato was also remembered fondly by Bill Cowher, who played at NC State when Amato was an assistant on Lou Holtz's staff. Cowher went on to coach the Pittsburgh Steelers (and win the Super Bowl after the 2005 season).
"RIP Coach Amato. Thank you for your influence and guidance in shaping me as a young LB from Western PA," Cowher wrote on Twitter/X. "You showed me tough love when I needed it & taught me Commitment, Sacrifice & Teamwork. You'll be missed, but your legacy will NEVER be forgotten!"
Amato’s influenced players’ lives and helped shape a future generation of coaches. Linebacker Brian Allen, who played at FSU from 1996-2000, is coaching at Lake City (Fla.) Columbia High.
“He was the best coach that I’ve had in my career. He was so much more than a coach for me,” Allen said. “He was a tough love coach. But you knew he loved you. He was going to instill discipline like no other. He was somebody that I wanted to make proud. …
“He helped instill values in men that became dads at some point, became coaches at some point. His Earthly presence may be gone but it’s not because it’s still living with his guys. There’s a piece of coach Amato that’s still living with me. His legacy doesn’t die.”
Amato also helped groom a young graduate assistant in Manny Diaz, who he would later bring to NC State. Diaz later coached at Miami as defensive coordinator and head coach, and he is now in his his third season as Duke's head coach, claiming the 2025 ACC Championship.
“I got to see how a program was built from day one, and got to see how hard it is to get a program through low-level atmosphere, up and into orbit,” Manny Diaz told the Raleigh News & Observer. “Chuck was highly intelligent but extraordinarily tough. I learned so much from him.”
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