‘Why wouldn’t I?’: New Vandal football coach Ford looks to continue momentum started by previous coach Eck

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

When Thomas Ford Jr. spoke with friends and associates about becoming head football coach at the University of Idaho, they mostly asked the same question: 

“Why do you want to go back?” 

“Why wouldn’t I want to come back?” replied Ford, 42, who on Friday was introduced as the Idaho Vandals’ 37th head football coach at a news conference in Moscow. 

Ford was running backs coach and special teams coordinator for the Vandals in 2022 and ‘23, before coaching running backs at Oregon State this past season. And he has ties to Moscow which go further back. 

“I felt so much a part of this past year’s (Idaho) team; I watched every single game I possibly could,” Ford said.  

Even last Friday, when he and his wife were attending the Nutcracker ballet, he said he was tracking the Idaho-Montana State FCS quarterfinal game on his phone. 

“That’s how much I care about this program — the coaches that were here, the players that were here.” Ford said.  

Ford was named Idaho coach just four days after the departure of Jason Eck, who guided the Vandals to a 26-13 record and three FCS playoff appearances in three seasons, who left to become head coach at New Mexico. 

“We firmly believe we hired the best candidate to continue — continue, the key word — building our football program,” Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik said. “Thomas Ford was instrumental in building the foundation for this football program. He is highly regarded as one of the top recruiters in college football, and has significantly improved every program he has been associated with.” 

Ford said when he was hired by Eck in 2022 and heard his vision for building a program, Ford said he kept thinking, “Did you steal that (vision) from me?” 

“We are planning to stay the course, and elevate what has been built here,” Ford said. “Jason did an amazing job here; I was extremely blessed to be a part of this program in 2022 and 23, but I plan on excelling this thing. We do not plan to slow down; this is not a rebuild. We have extremely talented young men on this roster, many of which I helped get here.” 

Ford’s immediate concern – other than the nine interviews he has set up for today as he tries to build his coaching staff — is who is going to be on the roster for next season. 

In the wake of Eck moving on, no less than 22 Vandals entered the transfer portal.  

Ford said he had a Zoom meeting the other night with current Vandal players, as well as those in the portal. The players in the portal are welcome to return, but have been given a timeline, he said. 

“After Christmas, if they’re still in the transfer portal, we’re assuming they don’t want to be back,” Ford said. “And from there, we’ll continue to build our roster. Obviously, we want every single one of them back on our team, but they have to do what’s best for them.” 

In fact, one reason Ford thought he was the best candidate for the job was his understanding — and acceptance — of the current landscape of college football, with NIL and the transfer portal. 

He stressed the importance of Vandal supporters “to see the value” in NIL.  

He’d like to bring Oregon State’s NIL model to Idaho. 

“We want players that want to be in Moscow, Idaho, and If wanting to be in Moscow, Idaho includes monetary value as a freshman, then they’re probably not the right fit.  

“We weren’t really into trying to attract freshmen (at Oregon State) with dollars ... however, we did an excellent job of rewarding stellar play. When guys did really well, or they played exceptionally from where they were the year before, they were rewarded. That’s more of the model I would like to continue here at Idaho.” 

Ford said he has made two hires to his staff, one being Matt Linehan, who will be offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The former Vandal QB was Idaho’s wide receivers coach under Eck. 

“Matt has been integral to the success here the past three years, he’s an incredible football mind, and I’m going to get him before everyone else in the country tries to steal him,” Ford said.  

Ford said his coaching philosophy on offense and defense is similar to Eck’s, though he’ll add his own wrinkles. 

“A lot of the stuff will be the same,” Ford said. “We’re going to care about kids, they’re going to know that we are a safe space for them, we didn’t bring them here just to have them play football, we brought them here to get an excellent experience, obviously get a world-class degree, and win a lot of football games in-between.” 

"Great choice to keep the program's momentum going forward!" Eck posted on X on Wednesday, when Ford was named coach.

Ford said he plans to recruit the Northwest like Eck did, as well as California, plus take advantage of connections he has in Arizona, and also to “start getting our claws a little bit into Texas.” 

Ford’s head coaching career includes two years (2018-19) at Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia, and four seasons at Stadium High in Tacoma (2014-17), as well as a handful of assistant coaching stops, including two years at the University of Washington. 

Ford remembers coming to Moscow as early as 1997, coming to summer team camps with his Mountlake Terrace (Wash.) football team. He competed in indoor track and field meets at the Kibbie Dome when he attended Linfield University in McMinnville, Ore., and watched his youngest brother, Tracy Ford, play football for the Vandals in the early 2000s. 

“This place, I can’t get away from here,” Ford said with a laugh. “And I don’t want to ever get away from here, because it’s such a special place for me and my family.” 

Like Eck, Ford will make his Vandal head coaching debut vs. Washington State, on Aug. 30 in Pullman. 

“They don’t have a coach yet,” Ford noted of the Cougars, who are looking to replace head coach Jake Dickert, who left Wednesday to become head coach at West Virginia. “We have FBS-caliber players on this roster. The opportunity to play an FBS school, the opportunity to beat an FBS school ... I hope they hire a coach pretty soon, so we know who we have to beat.”