He gone!

Pack Pride has the story:

According to sources close to the situation, NC State will have a new head coach in 2007, as Chuck Amato will not be back next season.

Update: And Arizona State has fired Dirk Koetter. ASU is thought to be another possible destination for Norm Chow.

Update #2: The Wilmington Star-News also says Amato is out:

N.C. State football coach Chuck Amato has been fired, according to three sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

One source is extremely close to the hiring and firing process at N.C. State. A second source is within the athletics department and spoke anonymously because an official announcement had not been made. The third source is close to Amato, who coached seven seasons at his alma mater.

No statement was made by the school to the Star-News, and sports information director Annabelle Myers said in the afternoon that she had no plans to issue a statement about Amato’s status.

Update #3: Some new reports from ESPN.com and The Buzz Blog are up. Also, The Technician is reporting that the team will meet at 9PM, which is a little over ten minutes away as I write this.

Update #4: The News & Observer says Amato will not be returning:

Five sources close to NCSU and the athletics department confirmed Saturday night and today that Amato's seventh season, which ended Saturday with a 21-16 loss to East Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium, would be his last as coach.

Update #5: Here, finally, is the official word from GoPack.com:

“No Wolfpack fan can question the excitement and enthusiasm that Chuck Amato brought to the NC State football program when he came here in 2000,” said Fowler. “His dreams have become our dreams and that has translated itself into our great new facilities, record ticket sales and five bowl appearances in seven years. However, because the results on the field in two of the last three seasons have fallen far below where we feel our program should be at this point, we have decided to take the program in a new direction.”