Scott Ford, assistant coach of the Milwaukee Admirals, is leaving the Nashville Predators organization.
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Thursday that they have hired Ford as an assistant coach.
A source told the Tennessean that Ford was expected to return for the 2024-25 season before he was offered the job in Columbus.
“Thank you, Coach Scott Ford, for everything you have done for the Preds and the (Milwaukee Admirals) over the past 15 years,” the team said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ford, 44, has spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach with the Predators’ AHL affiliate. Prior to that, Ford played 522 games for the Admirals in seven seasons. As a defenseman, he scored 18 goals and 47 assists, and also recorded 762 penalty minutes.
By joining the Blue Jackets, Ford will reunite with former colleague Dean Evason, who was hired as Columbus’ coach in July. Evason hired Ford as his assistant in Milwaukee after Ford retired from hockey in 2015.
This will be Ford’s first job as an NHL coach and his first outside the Predators organization.
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Before joining the Predators, Ford played college hockey at Brown University (2000-04). As a senior in 2004, he captained the Bears, playing in all 31 games. The Fort St. John, Ontario native spent several seasons in the ECHL before earning a spot on the Admirals’ roster in 2008.
Admirals coach Karl Taylor now has a vacancy on his staff, with assistant coach Greg Rallo and goaltending coach Justin Barron expected to return for the 2024-25 season.
