MOSCOW, Idaho – University of Idaho head football coach Jason Eck Friday announced the hire of former Division II head coach Thomas Ford as Running Backs Coach and Special Teams Coordinator.
 
"Thomas Ford checked so many boxes for us," Eck said. "To have a guy who has strong ties to Western Washington was critical for our staff. That is the largest population center close to our campus and we need to have a very strong presence there and be getting the very best FCS players out of the state of Washington. He is smart, worked his way up and I love having a guy with head coaching experience on the staff to act as a sounding board for me as a first-time head coach. He has a very strong resume with special teams and as a former collegiate running back, but on top of that has really great energy and attitude."
 
Ford is a native of Western Washington and his brother Tracy Ford played for the Vandals in the 2000s.
 
"I couldn't be more excited to be joining the Vandal family," Ford said. "I have some amazing memories coming to Moscow as a high school camper and watching my youngest brother play here in the mid-2000s. Coach Eck is assembling a phenomenal staff and I can't wait to help bring Idaho football back to a championship level."
 
For the last two seasons, Ford served as a quality control analyst for the University of Washington. Prior to his time at UW, he was the Head Coach at Simon Fraser. In just his first season at the lead at Simon Fraser, he led SFU to its first win in four seasons and was named the 2018 GNAC Coach of the Year.
 
Before his time at SFU, he was the head coach at Stadium High in Tacoma from 2014-2017. He took an 0-10 team that had not seen a winning season in over two decades and to the playoffs in 2016 and 2017.
 
He was the Defensive Coordinator at the University of Puget Sound during the 2013 season. Ford's defense improved in almost every statistical category and finished second in the Northwest Conference and ranked 35th nationally in fumble recoveries.
 
He served as the Special Teams Coordinator at SE Oklahoma State from 2009-2012.
 
"He has an amazing family, both with Shannon and their kids and the whole Ford family," Eck said. "I coached his brother Tracy when he played here at Idaho so I have known the Fords for a long time and now Tracy has a performance center in Bellevue where he works with high schoolers up to pro athletes so that is another great connection for us out there."
 
He played running back and ran track at Linfield College in Oregon. Ford set the Wildcats' single-game rushing record (237 yards against Redlands) in 2003. Linfield was 41-4 during Ford's playing career. He ranks still ranks fifth all-time on the career rushing list with 2,333 yards. Ford was a two-time Northwest Conference all-star, a member of four straight Northwest Conference championship teams, and team captain of Linfield's 2004 NCAA Division III national title team that was inducted into the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
 
He played four years of professional indoor football, winning a National Indoor Football League championship with Tri-Cities Fever in 2005.
 
He earned his B.A. from Linfield and his master's degree at SE Oklahoma State.
 
Ford and his wife Shannon have two children, a daughter Zoey and son Kingston.