Can Coach Ford Rescue Idaho’s Team Before It Falls Apart?

The curtain’s officially dropped on the Idaho Vandals’ 2025 campaign, wrapping up a season that wasn’t quite the storybook ending fans might’ve hoped for. Clocking in at 4-8, the path forward suddenly feels a tad steeper — especially for coach Thomas Ford Jr., who now faces the tricky task of navigating the offseason maze filled with transfers, staff shakeups, and fresh recruiting endeavors. You see, when a team struggles to contend, landing those coveted top-tier transfer players doesn’t come as simply as a handshake and a promise. Anticipate some eyebrow-raising shifts on the sideline as the Vandals mull over a new offensive coordinator bid adieu to defensive line coach Tevita Finau, and brace for some key player exits that could rattle the roster. But, here’s the kicker — with a promising class of recruits gearing up and Ford’s unyielding work ethic ready to ramp up, the real story might just be about how Idaho bounces back from the ashes. Curious to see how it all plays out? LEARN MORE

Nov. 25—COMMENTARY

The Idaho Vandals’ 2025 season is officially over.

Now we move over to the transfer portal, staff changes and recruiting in the offseason.

Coming off a 4-8 season, it may be a little more difficult for Idaho coach Thomas Ford Jr. to snag the exact top transfers he wanted. Lots of players want to join squads they know will contend.

Let’s take a look at some of the changes that might happen.

I expect the Vandals to move on to a different offensive coordinator. On Saturday, Matt Linehan was on the sideline instead of the booth and was without a play sheet in hand.

After the game, I asked Ford straight up: Who was calling the plays?

“That’s really not a question that I feel comfortable talking about, really,” Ford said. “I mean, we have an offensive coordinator, and that’s all I’ll say.”

He mentioned earlier in the presser that Linehan did a great job of “coaching the quarterbacks.”

Defensive line coach Tevita Finau announced that he was moving on from the Vandals. Probably expect a few more changes in the coaching staff.

There are a few top prospects on the Vandals that could be on the move, including junior linebacker Dylan Layne, true freshman cornerback Caleb Ricks, sophomore defensive end Matyus McLain and a number of others.

Redshirt freshman gadget quarterback Rocco Koch already announced he is leaving the Idaho program and so did sophomore wide receiver Davis Fry.

Keep in mind, the changes that haven’t already been announced are all speculation. I have no sources saying that these changes are going to happen; it’s all speculation on my part.

Ford said he had a firm message for certain guys who may be teetering on a change of scenery.

“I think the message is clear for these guys,” Ford said. “‘Hey, we were so close with so many of you guys that were inexperienced. You don’t have that problem in Year 2.’ A lot of these guys are first-year, even guys that were like older players, third-(and) fourth-year players were first-year starters. And so my message to those guys is, ‘Hey, let’s band together and show the world what we’re really about. If we stay together as a group and we continue to build on what we’ve really accomplished this season, the sky’s the limit for this program.'”

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He said most of the group gets the message. Building something with guys who have experience now, which they didn’t have at the start of the season, will be crucial.

“And I don’t think you can get the same overall athletic experience you can in a lot of other places that you can here,” Ford said. “I know that these guys truly love being around each other. So my hope and my message to those guys is (to) stay together. You love these guys, and if we stay together, we can be pretty special.”

Ford said after the game that the Vandals have 18 high school players committed and 16 of those are three-star players. He said in terms of stars, it could be one of the best recruiting classes in the history of the program.

After those guys officially sign their national letter of intent to play for Idaho, the work moves on to transfer players.

Ford said compared to last year, signing transfers will be much easier because they need about 10 players instead of 30 like last year.

“So we’ve got some needs there, but the difference between this year’s transfer recruiting and last year is very different,” Ford said. “We needed like 30 guys last year and this year with a much smaller number, I think we can be very selective and get the right guys that we really need to improve the program.”

This is what Ford said the program needs: a tight end, a couple of running backs, a couple of defensive ends, a safety, a cornerback and a wide receiver or two.

Losing both Elisha Cummings and Nate Thomas to graduation, it makes sense that the team needs to get a few more running backs in the portal. With Ford being a former running back himself and running backs coach for a while, Idaho would be an attractive spot for some of those backs.

Wide receiver was a weak spot for the Vandals for most of the season. The need to grab a few more playmakers on the outside is huge.

Just for depth, the other spots will need to be filled. Mixing in a new D-End with Donovan Parham graduating and a possible McLain departure would be crucial.

The same thing goes for cornerback; Deuce Blenman and Zakhari Spears are graduating and depth will be important to the Vandals next season.

After the loss to Idaho State on Saturday, Ford told the players in the locker room that he aims to grind in the offseason.

“What I said to them is, ‘You’re not going to see a coach in America that’s going to work harder than me,” Ford said. “‘You’re not going to see a recruiting group of guys that are going to hit this offseason as hard as our guys will.'”

For the Vandals to bounce back and find production like they did in recent years. The hard work is going to have to come to fruition. No putting the foot on the brake — give it all gas.

Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) @TrevorJunt.