Ford names Linehan as Idaho offensive coordinator

A day after being named the Idaho Vandals’ 37th football coach, Thomas Ford has made his first staffing announcement: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Matt Linehan will be promoted from within, becoming the program’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Ford announced Linehan’s position change on the Vandal Insider podcast on Thursday, calling it the “only hire that has been made official” in his young tenure. Linehan is now listed as offensive coordinator at the top of his profile on govandals.com.

A former Vandal quarterback who helped the team win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2016, Linehan has served as wide receivers coach for the past three seasons and recruiting coordinator for one.

He has strong ties to the Vandal community — his father, Montana Grizzlies offensive analyst Scott Linehan, was himself an Idaho football player and wide receivers coach in the 1980s. The elder Linehan also spent nearly two decades as a coach in the NFL.

Matt Linehan coached Hayden Hatten and Jermaine Jackson to 1,000-plus yard receiving seasons in 2022, with Hatten becoming a 2023 All-American and first-team All-Big Sky honoree.

Hatten left the Vandals as one of the most-decorated offensive players in school history. And Jackson’s speed earned him a spot in the NFL, where he is currently on the practice squad with the New Orleans Saints.

As a player, Linehan holds UI records for career attempts and completions, is second for yards and third for yards per game. He is fifth in school history for touchdowns. He also was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection and was the 2016 Potato Bowl MVP.

Linehan passed for more than 10,000 and 62 touchdowns in his Vandal career, including 3,184 yards and 19 TDs during the 2016 season.

In 2019, Linehan played for the Salt Lake Stallions in the short-lived Alliance of American Football.

He replaces Luke Schleusner as UI’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Schleusner had joined Idaho’s staff with former head coach Jason Eck in 2021.

Other coaching hires are yet to be announced.

“Matt will take over the playcalling duties as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach,” Ford said on the podcast. “With coach Linehan, we’ll continue to build the staff. I have got some great guys in line that I believe will take the job, but I want to do this the right way. ... For most positions, we have two to four guys who I feel really good about.

“What’s awesome about the process is there’s no lack of interest (in being on the coaching staff).”