 Ford left Oldham to take over as Defensive Co-ordinator of Ireland in January 2002 and stayed for 4 seasons, winning a triple crown and helping guide Ireland to 3rd in the world rankings.In September 2004 he started working as a defence and skills coach at Saracens, before taking over as head coach in August 2005.He served as a defence coach for the British and Irish Lions midweek team on their 2005 tour to New Zealand, remaining undefeated in 7 games (the test side lost the series 3-0).