Lincoln Riley addresses Matt Entz's departure from USC

The Fresno State Bulldogs added USC Trojans linebackers coach Matt Entz as their next head coach on Wednesday. With that, Lincoln Riley once again has a gap on his defensive staff at USC.

At his Early Signing Day press conference, Riley addressed Entz’s departure, including what it means for USC and what kind of impact it has had on the team in recent days.

“It didn’t get finalized until here this morning,” Lincoln Riley said. “It was one of those situations that came together pretty quickly and so I don’t know if it’s fair to say that it did or didn’t complicate things (with National Signing Day). I mean, that’s, in this world, it’s just kinda part of it. When you have a really good staff, you got really quality people on your staff, you’re gonna have guys that get opportunities and move on. And I think we’re happy for Coach Entz, first. College football head-coaching jobs are really, really hard to get, and I think it’s always a sign of a healthy program when programs are wanting to come in and hire your people, particularly, in head-coaching roles.”

Initially, Entz came to USC last season when Riley was making an effort to revamp the USC defense. He, along with defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, were major forces in improving the Trojans’ defense, which finished the season 56th in scoring defense, giving up 23.5 points per game. That’s a season after giving up 34.4 points per game.

“He did a great job for us. He made us better, made me better,” Riley said. “Was a great hire, and a big part of, statistically, one of the most, if not the most, improved defense in the country. So, wish he and Brenda the best. They’ve been great Trojans, and excited for their next opportunity.”

The coaching change does represent a challenge for Riley and USC. A position coach change before players sign their National Letters of Intent and with the Transfer Portal beginning to open can be difficult to manage. So, filling that job is going to be important to do quickly.

“Yeah, I don’t know that I can sit here and say that we did or didn’t get somebody because of that today. I don’t know that it was that impactful in terms of anything that played out today. But I think, part of our goal is, is to have a program, an offense, a defense, that goes beyond any one coach. That people know that, what they’re getting into here in terms of our culture, our systems that we have in place, and that they’re going to remain steadfast and never be tied directly to one person,” Riley said.

“And so, nah, wish him the best, and again, I think it’s a compliment to our program and to those hires that we made 12 months ago at this time.”

Entz brings head coaching experience with him to Fresno State after spending five seasons as the head coach at North Dakota State before leaving for USC. While in Fargo, he won two national championships and had a record of 60-11. His hope will be to make Fresno State a more consistent Mountain West threat while USC will be on the hunt for a new linebackers coach.