Kenneth Carlos Amato (born May 18, 1977) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

and current defensive assistant coach for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Prior to his coaching career, he spent nine seasons as a long snapper for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Montana State Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fiel ...

High school career

Ken Amato attended Braddock High School in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. He was a Dade County All-Star Team member in football, and also participated in

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

and in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

as a

high jumper The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

. Amato learned to long snap in his last year playing

Pop Warner football Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a nonprofit organization that provides activities such as American football, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth footbal ...

, but he did not do it again until college.

Playing career

College career

Amato attended Moorpark Junior College for two years, then transferred to

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...

. He served as the long snapper all four years. As a sophomore, he won All-Conference honors. As a junior, he played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

and linebacker, and posted 48 tackles and 2.5 sacks. As a senior, he had three sacks, one

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

recovery, and 41

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

. After his college eligibility expired at the end of the 1998 season Amato spent the next two years finishing his degree while also assisting Montana State's coaching staff with video work, as well as other tasks.

Professional playing career

After graduation, he then spent two years working as a full-time juvenile service specialist in

. He then joined the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

2002 and 2003. However, he was released during

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

each season. After being released by the Panthers for the second time, he signed with the

on August 12, 2003. He played as long snapper in every regular season game for Tennessee that season, as well as on special teams. He also played linebacker in extra linebacker situations, and made seven career tackles in that position.

Coaching career

High school and college coaching

After retiring from professional football in 2011, Amato became the outside linebackers coach at Brentwood High School in

Brentwood, Tennessee Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.special teams coordinator In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

Limestone College Limestone University, formerly Limestone College, is a private Christian university in Gaffney, South Carolina. It was established in 1845 by Thomas Curtis, a distinguished scholar born and educated in England. Limestone was the first women's c ...

in 2016.

Professional coaching

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, he joined the

as a special teams assistant. In February 2018, he was named a defensive assistant on the coaching staff of

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is a former American football player and coach and current broadcaster. He previously served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2010s from 2010-2019. Garrett has also been offensive coordi ...

Family

Amato's father, Paul, is Italian-Irish and his mother, Isora Gotay, is from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Amato married his wife Sandi in July 2004. The couple resides in

Brentwood, Tennessee Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.

References

External links

Tennessee Titans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amato, Ken 1977 births Puerto Rican players of American football American football linebackers American football long snappers Living people Montana State Bobcats football players Moorpark Raiders football players Tennessee Titans players Dallas Cowboys coaches G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School alumni Puerto Rican people of Italian descent Puerto Rican people of Irish descent