College football coach accepts new head coaching job after back-to-back conference titles

Toledo’s coaching search began after longtime head coach Jason Candle left to take the UConn job on December 6.

Candle leaves Toledo with an 81-44 record, eight bowl appearances, and two 11-win seasons across 11 years, and now moves on to a six-year, $15 million contract with the Huskies.

He remains the Rockets’ all-time leader in wins and bowl wins (three), marking the end of one of the most productive coaching tenures in school history.

On Wednesday, Toledo filled that hole by naming Mercer’s Mike Jacobs the new head coach on a reported five-year contract.

The move immediately hands Toledo a proven leader with a decade-long record of winning at multiple levels of college football.

Toledo has finalized a five-year deal to hire Mercer’s Mike Jacobs as its new head coach, sources tell @CBSSports.

Jacobs, an Ohio native and former Ohio State player, has a 94-23 overall record as a head coach. Will be Toledo’s replacement for Jason Candle. https://t.co/MqfdzdOjs3 pic.twitter.com/LliNFKpy8T
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 10, 2025

Jacobs, a Maumee, Ohio native and former Ohio State offensive lineman, arrives with a 94–23 career record and a history of consistently turning programs around and competing for conference titles.

In two seasons at Mercer (2024-25), he went 20-6, capped by consecutive Southern Conference championships and an FCS playoff run; the 2025 Bears finished 9-3 (8-0 SoCon) and entered the postseason as a top-10 FCS team before a lopsided loss to South Dakota.

Before taking over at Mercer, he worked as a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan and Purdue, then coached the defensive line at California (PA) and Notre Dame (OH) before landing his first head-coaching role at Lenoir–Rhyne from 2020–2023.

He’s been a multiple-time conference Coach of the Year and an Eddie Robinson Award finalist.

Mercer Bears head coach Mike Jacobs. — Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Mercer Bears head coach Mike Jacobs watches warmups at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | Will McLelland-Imagn Images

The Toledo athletic department framed the hire as a culture and performance match: Jacobs’ sustained winning percentage (.803) and history of player development were singled out by AD Bryan Blair as reasons he fits the Rockets’ competitive goals.

Jacobs’ Ohio roots, along with his success transforming lower-profile programs into conference winners, were cited as important advantages for a MAC team looking to steady its foundation.

For Toledo, the immediate task will be stabilizing recruiting, addressing portal movement following Candle’s exit, and preparing for a 2026 MAC slate that will test whether Jacobs’ FCS-level success translates to the Group of Five.

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