Fresno State is targeting USC linebackers coach Matt Entz to become the Bulldogs’ new head coach, a source familiar with the hiring process told The Athletic Wednesday.
The 52-year-old Entz has been on Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC for one season. He arrived after spending the previous decade at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. From 2019-2023, Entz was the Bison’s head coach and led NDSU to national title in 2019 and 2021. He went 60-11 there and was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Years. Entz was named the FCS National Coach of the Year in 2019 and 2021 by the American Football Coaches Association. As head coach at NDSU, Entz helped develop eight NFL Draft picks, including the 2021 No. 3 overall pick, quarterback Trey Lance.
Entz became the first Division I head football coach to go 16-0 in his first full season at the helm, defeating James Madison to win the 2019 Division I FCS National Championship. The 2019 Bison became the first modern-era college football team in any division to finish a season 16-0, joining the 1894 Yale Bulldogs as the only 16-0 teams in college football history.
The Iowa native had never coached on the West Coast until this year with USC.
The Bulldogs went 6-6 this season with Tim Skipper acting as the program’s interim head coach. They started the season 5-3 but lost three of their last four games. He took over for Jeff Tedford, who stepped down in July for health reasons. Fresno State hasn’t had a losing season since 2019. The Bulldogs had consecutive 10-win seasons in 2021 and 2022 under Kalen DeBoer and then Tedford.
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