After retiring from professional hockey, Forrest began his coaching career as an assistant with the
USA Hockey National Team Development Program, where he helped lead the team to a gold medal at the 2015
IIHF Under-18 World Championship. He then spent a season coaching the affiliate team of
EC Red Bull Salzburg in
Austria. On August 2, 2016, the
Pittsburgh Penguins appointed him as an assistant coach for their
AHL affiliate, the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was promoted to the position of head coach on September 11, 2020. On April 28, 2024, the Penguins announced that they would not be extending the contract of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach J.D. Forrest. He subsequently joined the
Syracuse Crunch as an assistant coach. ==Awards and honors==