Idaho football coach Thomas Ford Jr. is centering fall camp on a simple directive: improvement matters more than outcomes. The message—”Doesn’t Matter, Get Better”—has become the rallying point for the Vandals’ preparations for the 2026 season, Ford’s second year leading the program.
The phrase appears on the back of coaching staff shirts and represents a deliberate departure from Ford’s approach during his first season. Rather than establishing championship or playoff aspirations early in camp, Ford is steering the roster toward a day-by-day focus on progress and execution.
“We have a big phrase that we’ve been talking about all offseason: ‘It doesn’t matter, get better,'” Ford told the Lewiston Tribune during Big Sky Football Kickoff Weekend in Spokane in July. “You have a great practice, doesn’t really matter, get better.”
Ford reflected on his first season, acknowledging that emphasizing end-of-season goals—postseason play and conference championships—set a tone he later viewed as counterproductive. By shifting the emphasis to incremental improvement, Ford hopes to build a culture where the team prioritizes what happens each day on the practice field over distant objectives.
Building the Roster
The Vandals are working with a mix of returning players and new contributors. Senior quarterback Joshua Wood returns to lead the offense, anchoring an experienced receiving corps that includes junior receivers Ryan Jezioro and Tony Harste, along with sophomore Nolan McWilliams. Senior Oregon State transfer Zack Card and fifth-year tight end Chance Bogan provide additional offensive firepower, while junior tight ends Gus Donnerberg and Noah West-Baranco round out the positional group.
On defense, the program added junior linebacker Darrell Gipson Jr., a transfer from Cincinnati who is settling into the Vandals’ scheme. Defensive coordinator Lee Stalker and defensive line coach VJ Malo are leading the defensive unit through camp drills.
A Transfer’s Perspective
Gipson Jr. reflected on his early adjustment to Idaho’s defensive system during fall camp. “I think I’m really comfortable in the defense,” he told the Lewiston Tribune on Day 13 of camp. “I think I love the defense. I’ve improved a lot just with a lot of little things, a lot of the basic things: my steps, my vision, my control, my eyes.”
His remarks echo Ford’s philosophy. Rather than measuring success by conference standings or playoff seeding, the focus remains on mastering fundamentals and building consistency through repetition. For a transfer integrating into a new system, that incremental approach offers a clear pathway to contributing.
The “Doesn’t Matter, Get Better” mantra extends beyond motivational rhetoric. It reflects a structural shift in how the coaching staff prioritizes conversations and expectations. By decoupling daily performance from season-long results, Ford aims to reduce pressure and allow players to focus on execution and improvement without the distraction of distant goals.
As fall camp progressed through mid-August, the Vandals continue implementing this philosophy. Whether the approach yields the on-field results Ford envisions remains to be seen, but the message is clear: in Moscow, improvement is the immediate target.
For more on University of Idaho athletics, follow coverage throughout the fall season.