Fresno State football staff taking shape under new coach Matt Entz, with some changes

Fresno State is not easy. Its football spending has stagnated, declining over the past six years while the median across the Mountain West Conference has increased by 33%.

But coach Matt Entz has managed to add an 11th full-time assistant coach and some extra experience to his staff by turning spots normally held by entry-level graduate assistants into quality control coaches and analyst positions, all while working with the same salary pool that was in place a year ago.

“Just trying to be creative with how we do it,” said Entz, who was hired in December. “If we had someone who wanted to get their master’s degree that’s great. But they don’t have to be connected to school any more. It gives us access to a wider variety of people.”

That could be a coach that was let go but still is being paid by another school. It could be a veteran coach nearing but not quite ready to head into retirement, or a former NFL or college player looking to break into the profession. It also could be a traditional graduate assistant. But the pursuit of a graduate degree no longer is prerequisite.

Quality control coaches and analysts previously had strict limits to what they could do, but with a NCAA rule change last June any staff member is now allowed to be hands-on in practices and on game days, providing technical or tactical instruction. Those positions have become must-haves in some Power Four conferences. Fresno State this season had 10 full-time on-field assistant coaches, and when Tim Skipper was named interim coach moved up two quality control coaches to assistant positions.

The limit on the number of coaches allowed to recruit off-campus remained at 11 including the head coach, but that could be another draw to the position for veteran coaches.

“Hopefully we can continue to develop those positions so they are appealing to people that have significant experience.” Entz said.

Bulldogs’ staff nearly complete

The Bulldogs will have 10 position coaches, five on offense and five on defense.

Josh Davis will be offensive coordinator and coach the quarterbacks, Aaron Prier returns as the running backs coach, Zach Crabtree will coach the offensive line and Brian Ferentz will coach the tight ends. Former Fresno State wideout Delvon Hardaway, a graduate assistant on offense this season, is expected to coach the wideouts.

Nick Benedetto will be the defensive coordinator and coach safeties, with Adam Breske serving as linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator. J.D. Williams returns as the cornerbacks coach, Jordan Gigli will coach the interior defensive linemen and Marcus Hall-Oliver will coach the defensive ends.

John Baxter returns and will be the 11th coach, serving as special teams coordinator.

Former Fresno State center Matt Smith, who was the Bulldogs’ offensive line coach this season, will return in one of the quality control roles.

“He’s another guy that can help us along the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball,” Entz said. “We need to continue to get better in that area. I think you can look by just who we have there.

“There are some well-respected, really good football coaches who have impacted offensive line and tight end play throughout their careers.”

The target, Entz said, is a staff of 18 not including strength and conditioning personnel.

“If you get any bigger than that there are just too many cooks in the kitchen,” he said.

To squeeze the staff into the salary pool, adjusted the contracts of the coordinator positions.

Coordinators’ credentials

Davis and Benedetto both signed two-year contracts through 2027 worth $265,428 a year, a significant raise for both, but also substantially less than Fresno State paid offensive coordinator Pat McCann and defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle last season. McCann in the first year of a two-year contract was paid $360,000 and Coyle, also in the first year of a two-year contract, was paid $395,748.

Davis, the offensive coordinator, held the same position at FCS South Dakota, where he led a Jeff Tedford-like turnaround over two seasons.

The Coyotes had averaged 286.1 yards and 16.3 points a game in 2022 and this season South Dakota averaged 436.9 yards and 35.8 points per game while going 11-3 with a loss to Montana State in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs.

Davis led an offense that had two running backs surpass 1,000 rushing yards and pushed the ball down field with quarterback Aiden Bouman at a much higher rate than Fresno State did last season. South Dakota ranked second in the FCS in averaging 9.5 yards per passing attempt, and 18.8% of the pass attempts by Bouman were targeted 20 or more yards down the field, according to Pro Football Focus. Fresno State averaged 7.3 yards per attempt, and quarterback Mikey Keene targeted 11.1% of his throws 20 or more yards down field.

Benedetto also had a quick impact at Northern Illinois, after joining that staff in 2022 as co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach. The Huskies in 2021 had allowed 452.5 yards and 33.7 points per game. This season, just 284.6 and 18.5, and the Huskies were one of the best third down and red zone defenses in the nation.

Northern Illinois allowed opponents to convert only 26.7% of their third-down plays into a first down, ranking second in the nation. It yielded only 0.8 yards per play on 3rd-and-short rushing plays, tied with Tennessee for the lowest in the nation. In the red zone, the Huskies allowed only 16 touchdowns in when backed inside their 20-yard line and their 44.4% touchdown allowed percentage ranked behind only Penn State (41.5) and Ohio State (41.7).