North Dakota State head coach Matt Entz will join Lincoln Riley's USC staff, sources confirmed to FootballScoop. Entz will be USC's assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach.
The news was first reported by Logan Campbell of WDAY-TV in Fargo.
Entz is in the midst of his fifth season leading the Bison. The former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach took over when Chris Klieman landed the Kansas State job in 2019. He guided the Bison to a 16-0 season with an FCS title in 2019, and again won a national championship in 2021.
The Bison are on the march for another national title right now. After trashing Drake in the first round, NDSU upset No. 6 Montana State in the second round, then a 45-17 blowout of No. 3 South Dakota on Saturday.
North Dakota State visits No. 2 Montana in the FCS semifinals on Saturday. The national championship game is not until Saturday, Jan. 7. He will finish the season in Fargo before reporting for duty in Los Angeles.
In an attempt to re-make his defense following two poor seasons under Alex Grinch, Riley hired UCLA defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn as coordinator.
“My mentality going into it is, we’re going to do everything that we can in this program to accelerate the process of us playing great defense at USC," Riley said last week. "Whatever it takes to get that done from a development standpoint, from a staffing standpoint, from the way that we practice, everything here is going to be done with a defensive mind first…The edge here is always going to go to what’s best for our defense.”
The 51-year-old Entz has never worked in FBS prior to the USC hiring. He played at Wartburg College and coached at Illinois College, Wayne State, Northern Iowa and Western Illinois prior to joining the NDSU staff in 2014.
The lack of FBS and Power 5 experience, however, is more of biographical note than a statement of quality. Entz will be perhaps the most overqualified position coach in college football, bringing with him a 60-10 record (so far) and perhaps three national championships.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update: USC has announced the hire.
"Having a championship-caliber staff is instrumental to the success of our team," said Riley. "By welcoming Matt Entz, a championship-winning head coach and outstanding defensive mind, we are bolstering our defensive staff."