Matt Entz said Monday his decision to leave a head coaching position at North Dakota State for a spot on Lincoln Riley’s staff at USC was a move to bet on himself.

He said there wasn’t really a connection to USC for him, personally. He coached a linebacker who played for new USC defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn in the NFL. Mutual friends connected Riley to him. More than anything, Entz is looking to build his coaching career.

“A difficult decision,” Entz said when he met with reporters on Monday. “I’ve been here for 10 years. I’ve spent 30-35% of my coaching career here. My boys grew up here. This place has been unbelievable to Team Entz. The number of friends and colleagues that I have — really good friends — that are here in Fargo, within our administration, within coaching staff, and in the community is second to none. This will always be a home away from home.”

“Just an opportunity for me to continue to grow and develop. I wouldn’t leave NDSU for just anything. I’ve had other opportunities along the way, and they just didn’t maybe spark my interest or the timing wasn’t right. This was a unique opportunity for me and my wife.”

The thing that piqued Entz’s interest is obvious.

“To me, it’s a top-five program in the country,” Entz said. “When USC’s playing good football, college football’s better for it.”

Sounds a bit like statements Riley has made since taking over the program two years ago.

Entz will join the staff as a linebackers coach and the assistant head coach for defense once North Dakota State’s season concludes. His team is still in the FCS Playoff hunt, and it’ll take on Montana this upcoming Saturday in the FCS semifinals.

And he’s been through this kind of transition before. From 2014-18, Entz served as the Bison’s defensive coordinator under then-head coach Chris Klieman.

On Dec. 10, 2018, Klieman was named the head coach at Kansas State. However, with NDSU in the postseason, Klieman stayed with the team throughout its playoff run. When he left, Entz took over as the head coach.

Now, he’ll go through the same transition. Asked why the move was announced now rather than after NDSU’s season finished, Entz intimated that filling the open position on USC’s staff was beneficial to the program with the transfer portal open and the early signing period approaching.

With USC moving into the Big Ten, a coach with extensive knowledge of the recruiting landscape in the Midwest can surely help Riley and the Trojans.

He said his team handled the news well. There were hugs on Sunday when the news was conveyed to the team, but he practice on Monday was “status quo.”

Entz said he’d like to be a head coach again someday, but the opportunity as USC was too good to pass on.

“I have head coaching experience … but to be transparent, I’ve had some people tell me, ‘Well, you don’t have FBS recruiting experience, you haven’t really dove into NIL,'” Entz said. “Those have been marks against me, if you will. I saw this as an opportunity to continue to further and broaden my circle of people. Still gonna have some relevance here in the Midwest, which is comforting, and hopefully this will lead to some other opportunities.”