The Procession is Over

After the loss at UNC on November 18th, the writing was on the wall for Chuck Amato at NC State. Not because he lost to UNC, but because he lost to a team that was just downright awful. It was the final nail on the coffin, and the masses began calling for his removal. I joined those ranks, but not until after the debacle against ECU on Saturday night. If the UNC game was the final nail, then the ECU loss was the final shovelful of dirt. On Sunday, November 26th, it became official:

Press Release on GoPack.com

One of the highlights of the presser was when Captain Lee Fouler made the following statement:

“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."

This is great news, as it clearly states that Lee will not be the front man for this search. I do not think we need to reset how he handled the basketball search, do we? It is a pretty safe bet that when I say that I do not know if I could handle another Lee run search, that I speak for all of Wolfpack Nation. In the very least, however, he does make it entertaining. Chuck Amato's parting words were the following:

“When I came to North Carolina State University, I set my dreams very high,” said Amato. “My vision was to take this program to places that it had never been before in 100-plus years of playing football. We really don’t know how long or how difficult it is to be able to attain those types of goals because we’ve never been there before in football.

“I didn’t come here to use this job as a stepping stone like many others have or could. I wanted to surround myself with people who would help me stretch my vision and not choke my dreams. This is obviously a disappointing decision for me, but I would never do anything to hurt North Carolina State University. This season was a big disappointment but I’m very proud of what I accomplished during my tenure. I believe that my relentless persistence and my passion have brought an enthusiasm, an energy and an emotion that couldn’t be equalled. Those same qualities are just as strong in me today as they were the first day I took this job. I haven’t lost my passion, my will to succeed, or my joy.”

While I would never wish for someone to be fired, getting fired this time of year must be terribly worse than being fired any other time. That being said, I hope they fire Lee "Mr. Basketball" Fouler next. Save me the crying about calling for someones job during the holidays, too. We are not talking about some blue collar guy who makes 45K a year. We are talking about Chuck Amato and his 900K/season package, and Lee "Einstein" Fouler and his pretty portfolio as well. If they are not okay financially, then they have deeper rooted problems than being fired. So the madness will now ensue. I am sure that the powers that be either already know, or will know pretty quickly just what Bill Cowher's intentions are. He is obviously target number one. The next set of names that we will hear are Norm Chow, Paul Johnson, Jimbo Fisher, and Mike Sherman. I will start breaking down the candidates later today, time willing.