Chuck Amato’s football staff took yet another serious blow yesterday when associate head coach John “Doc” Holliday left to join Urban Meyer’s staff at Florida. It’s bad enough to lose a good coach, but the real damage could be in recruiting where Holliday was known as State’s chief Florida recruiting. As you know, the Wolfpack has had good success in recent years in mining the Sunshine State. That will be tougher with Holliday now using his connections for the Gators.
Times could get tough for Amato. This past season also signaled the end of the honeymoon, with fans starting to criticize the team’s performance. All the excitement that came with Amato’s hire and first few years is starting to turn into crushing expectations. The Pack needs to make a solid run at an ACC title to appease fans, but that’s tough to do when you have to shuffle your coaching staff each season. Amato has had nine assistants leave, including defensive coordinator Reggie Herring, since he took the head job.