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Dec. 21—It was a matter of when, not if, Thomas Ford Jr. would return to Moscow.
That “when” became Friday when Ford, his wife Shannon, daughter Zoey and son Kingston walked into a packed ICCU Arena Alumni room as Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik introduced Ford as the Vandals’ 37th head football coach.
Wearing a black and gold tie, black shirt, tan jacket and pants and an Idaho Vandal pin, Ford outlined his vision for the Idaho football program — a vision largely aligned with his predecessor and former boss, coach Jason Eck.
In three years at the helm of Vandal football, Eck led Idaho to three straight Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances, including two quarterfinals, before departing to coach the New Mexico Lobos.
Ford served as running backs coach and special teams coordinator on Eck’s staff for his first two seasons in Moscow. Last season, Ford was the running backs coach at Oregon State.
“Jason (Eck) did an amazing job here,” Ford said. “I was extremely blessed to be a part of his program in 2022 and 2023 but I plan on excelling. We do not plan on slowing down. This is not a rebuild.”
Ford’s first hire
Ford wasted little time laying the foundation for his program when he called Matt Linehan, Eck’s wide receivers coach for three years and a former Vandal star quarterback, to be his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“He’s an incredible football mind,” Ford said. “I think that I’m getting him right at the right time. I’m getting him before everyone in the country tries to steal him.”
Linehan said that it was “a no-brainer” to take the job, despite several other opportunities he had elsewhere.
“He called me and said, ‘Hey, are you ready to do this?’ And I was like, ‘What happened? What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘They just hired me, man.’ And I kind of sat there in shock for a second, like,…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/not-rebuild-idaho-football-coach-131600041.html
Author : Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
Publish date : 2024-12-21 13:16:00
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