Living in Fargo, North Dakota must be too cold for two-time national championship college football coach Matt Entz to handle. He is taking a demotion to move to Los Angeles.
The 51-year-old head football coach at North Dakota State University, a powerhouse on the FCS level, is set to become the ‘assistant head coach for defense’ and linebackers coach at USC. It is a shocking move that was announced with terrible timing.
After blowing out South Dakota on Saturday, the Bison are set to face No. 2-seed Montana in the semifinals next weekend. They will play for a shot at the national title with knowledge that their head coach is set to leave them as soon as they lose. That’s tough.
Matt Entz is leaving ASAP.
Logistically, Entz’s decision is a bit of a head-scratcher. He won two national titles during his first three seasons, finished as runner-up in year four, and won at least 11 games in four of five years.
Financially, Entz’s decision is a no-brainer. He is currently making around $420,000 per year to be the head coach of the Bison. The Trojans will likely pay him a greater sum for less responsibility.
Entz has yet to address the decision publicly. His players, who unfortunately learned of the news through social media first, found out in a meeting with their head coach on Sunday afternoon.
A statement was released through the school not long thereafter.
North Dakota State will have Entz through its next loss— whenever that might be. It could come as early as Saturday. It may never come at all if they can win each of their next two games!
This will serve as an interesting case study. Will the Bison rally around Entz or will they collapse?
On the other side of things, this is an incredible hire for Lincoln Riley and USC. The Trojans have been especially terrible on defense over the last few years. Adding Entz to the staff is a big boost!