Forde began his career in 1987 working as a journalist for The Courier-Journal, where his writing won numerous awards. He initially worked there as a beat reporter and then spent 12 years writing a column.
In 2004, Forde left The Courier-Journal to join ESPN full-time after freelancing for their website for about seven years.He soon became a staple on radio and television for his college football and basketball coverage. In addition, his column "Forde Yard Dash" drew acclaim for its intense focus on college football, featuring 40 mentions of college football from the previous week, as well as a weekly "Dashette", a female model or celebrity. During the NCAA basketball regular season, Forde wrote a column called, "Forde Minutes", following the same premise as his "Forde Yard Dash" column.
In mid-October 2011, it was reported that Forde would be leaving ESPN after the expiration of his contract on November 1, 2011 to pursue a career with Yahoo Sports. After starting at Yahoo Sports on November 1, Forde resumed his weekly "Forde Yard Dash" and later resumed his "Forde Minutes" column as well.