Reactions to Matt Entz’s hiring as Fresno State’s head football coach. ‘He’s a great one’
Matt Entz was hired as the next Fresno State football coach, and the hiring was meant with a lot of positives from fans and analysts nationwide.
Entz comes over to Fresno State from USC where he served as the assistant head coach for defense.
He had a highly-successful run as coach at FCS North Dakota State before making the jump to the FBS level this season, going 60-10 in five seasons and leading the Bison to national championships in 2019 and 2021.
Former USC quarterback Matt Leinart said it’s a big loss for USC.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli applauded the hire, but at the same time questioned it.
USC senior linebacker Eric Gentry raved about Entz and described what he meant to him.
Fans chimed in on the hire of Entz.
Current and former players had hoped Skipper would have the interim tag taken off and be named the full-time head coach replacing Jeff Tedford,who retired prior to the season.
Former Fresno State running back Paris Gaines was outraged at the decision to not hire Skipper.
“Alumni spread across the country are outraged and shocked,” he wrote to The Bee. “That Tim Skipper was not given an opportunity to become Fresno State’s next official head coach! This is truly a sad day!”
In a news conference, USC coach Lincoln Riley said the Entz’s deal to Fresno State didn’t get done until Wednesday morning.
“It came together pretty quickly,” Riley told reporters. “He did a great job for us. He made us better. He made me better. He was a great hire and a big part of statistically, one of the most improved defense in the country.
This story was originally published December 4, 2024 at 1:30 PM.
