A 13-year college coaching veteran with previous stops at South Dakota and Minot State, Joe Ford begins his third season at UNC Pembroke in 2017-18 while serving as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Braves.
Ford came to Pembroke after serving two seasons as the outside linebackers coach at South Dakota. His coaching career also includes stops at Minot State, St. Cloud State and Southwest Minnesota State. Ford also serves as a lecturer in the Health and Human Performance Department at UNCP.
As an assistant coach for South Dakota, Ford was integral in the mentoring of Tyler Starr who logged 71 tackles (15 tackles for loss) and nine sacks as a senior in 2013 en route to Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year laurels. Starr would go on to be selected in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Last season, two Coyotes ranked among the MVC’s top 20 tacklers, including linebacker John Wessel who recorded 86 stops en route to All-MVC accolades.
Prior to his stint at USD, Ford spent six seasons at Minot State, including a five-year stint as defensive coordinator. With Ford at the reigns of the defense in 2009, the Beavers registered a Dakota Athletic Conference-leading 17 interceptions and made their first playoff appearance since 2002. The following season, Minot State ranked 16th, nationally, in scoring defense (18.4 points/game), while also posting the nation’s sixth-best sacks per game (3.0) number.
All told, Minot State rattled off 26 wins in the first four years of Ford’s tenure before the Beavers transitioned to NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference in time for the 2011 campaign. Under his watch, seven defensive standouts earned all-conference nods, including three during his last season in northern North Dakota.
Ford began his coaching career in 2004 at Southwest Minnesota State as a graduate assistant, before finishing his post-graduate work at St. Cloud State in 2006 as the linebackers coach. He has also served several stints as a counselor for various college football camps across the country.
As a walk-on student-athlete at South Dakota State, Ford was a three-year letterwinner for the Jackrabbits from 2000-02 and was voted team captain prior to his senior campaign in Brookings. He began his playing career at Sioux Falls and was decorated with all-conference nods after starting 10 games as a freshman.
Ford earned his bachelor’s degree in health from South Dakota State in 2003 and his master’s degree in teaching physical education from St. Cloud State in 2007. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two children, Brynn and Patterson.
THE FORD FILE
Coaching Experience
2004-05: Southwest Minnesota State, Graduate Assistant (Defensive Backs)
2006: St. Cloud State, Graduate Assistant (Linebackers)
2007: Minot State, Assistant Coach (Linebackers)
2008-12: Minot State, Assistant Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Secondary)
2013-14: South Dakota, Assistant Coach (Outside Linebackers)
2015-Present: UNC Pembroke, Assistant Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs)
Education
Bachelor’s degree in health (South Dakota State, 2003); Master’s degree in physical education (St. Cloud State, 2007)
