Inside The Panthers

Former Pitt Staffer Takes College Football Playoff Job

The Pitt Panthers lost a support staffer to the biggest organization in the sport.

Stephen Thompson

Sep 4, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers helmets on the sidelines against
Sep 4, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers helmets on the sidelines against / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will be losing a key member of their support staff this offseason as they move through the offseason.

Assistant athletic director for football operations, John Ford Jr. is leaving Pitt after five seasons with the Panthers and will take a job with the College Football Playoff, the organization announced this week. Ford. Jr. will serve as assistant director of team operations for the CFP.

Ford graduated from Rugers in 2013, while working as a video and recruiting assistant as an undergraduate, and earned a master's degree from Wake Forest in 2018. He began his career in football as an operations and video assistant for the Scarlet Knights for two years after completing his undergraduate degree.

At Wake Forest, he first worked as an operations and video assistant before being promoted to associate director of football operations. After taking a job at Pitt following the 2018 season, he has helped the Panthers by helping plan road trips and keeping their "away game headquarters," as his team bio states, organized throughout the season.

The Panthers have gone through some extensive staff turnover this offseason and it continues into the spring.

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work: