Jason Tyler Candle (born November 12, 1979) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach at the University of Toledo, a position he had held since the 2016 season. Candle had been an assistant at Toledo since 2009, and at Mount Union before that. He played as a wide receiver at Mount Union and Geneva.
 Candle with Toledo in 2023 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Toledo |
| Conference | MAC |
| Record | 72–40 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | November 12, 1979 Salem, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1998–1999 | Geneva |
| 2000–2001 | Mount Union |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2003–2006 | Mount Union (WR) |
| 2007–2008 | Mount Union (OC) |
| 2009 | Toledo (SR/TE) |
| 2010–2011 | Toledo (WR) |
| 2012–2013 | Toledo (OC/WR) |
| 2014–2015 | Toledo (AHC/OC/QB) |
| 2016–present | Toledo |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 72–40 |
| Bowls | 2–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 MAC (2017, 2022) 3 MAC West Division (2017, 2022, 2023) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× MAC Coach of the Year (2017, 2023) | |
Playing career
editCandle was born in Salem, Ohio.[1] He played wide receiver, first at Geneva College (1998–1999) and then at Mount Union (2000–2001).[2] Both Mount Union teams he played on won the Division III championship.[3] Candle graduated from Mount Union in 2003.[4]
Coaching career
editAfter graduating, Candle stayed on at Mount Union and joined the coaching staff as the wide receivers coach, a job he held from 2003 to 2006. In 2007, Mount Union promoted him to offensive coordinator, replacing Matt Campbell, who had joined the staff at Bowling Green.[5]
Toledo
editCandle left Mount Union in 2009 to become the slot receivers/tight ends coach at Toledo under Tim Beckman.[6] He was reunited there with Campbell, then serving as run game coordinator. Toledo promoted Candle to wide receivers coach in 2010, where he coached All-American Eric Page. Toledo promoted Campbell to head coach at the end of 2011 after Beckman became head coach at the University of Illinois. Campbell retained Candle and promoted him to offensive coordinator. Candle added the title of associate head coach in 2014.[5]
Toledo named Candle as their head coach on December 2, 2015, after Campbell departed for Iowa State University.[7] He won his head coaching debut in the Boca Raton Bowl 32–17 over Temple.[8]
In his first full season as the Rockets' head coach in 2016, Candle went 9–3 in the regular season.[9] The team made the Camellia Bowl and lost 31–28 to Appalachian State.[10] In the 2017 season, Candle led the team to a 10–2 regular season mark, which won the MAC West.[11][12] The team won 45–28 over Akron in the MAC Championship.[13] The Rockets' season ended with a loss to Appalachian State in the Dollar General Bowl.[14]
In the 2022 season, Candle led the team to a 7–5 regular season mark that qualified for the MAC Championship.[15] Toledo defeated Ohio 17–7 to win the MAC.[16] Toledo defeated Liberty in the Boca Raton Bowl 21–19.[17]
In 2023, Candle led the Rockets to a perfect MAC record and won MAC Coach of the Year.[18] They were upset by Miami in the MAC Championship game.[19] The team finished with a 11–3 record.[20] He joined Frank Lauterbur as the only head coaches in school history with multiple 11-win seasons.[21]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toledo Rockets (Mid-American Conference) (2015–present) | |||||||||
| 2015 | Toledo | 1–0 | 0–0 | T–1st | W Boca Raton[a] | ||||
| 2016 | Toledo | 9–4 | 6–2 | 2nd (West) | L Camellia | ||||
| 2017 | Toledo | 11–3 | 7–1 | 1st (West) | L Dollar General | ||||
| 2018 | Toledo | 7–6 | 5–3 | T–2nd (West) | L Bahamas | ||||
| 2019 | Toledo | 6–6 | 3–5 | T–5th (West) | |||||
| 2020 | Toledo | 4–2 | 4–2 | T–2nd (West) | |||||
| 2021 | Toledo | 7–6 | 5–3 | 3rd (West) | L Bahamas | ||||
| 2022 | Toledo | 9–5 | 5–3 | T–1st (West) | W Boca Raton | ||||
| 2023 | Toledo | 11–3 | 8–0 | 1st (West) | L Arizona | ||||
| 2024 | Toledo | 7–5 | 4–4 | T–6th | GameAbove Sports | ||||
| Toledo: | 72–40 | 47–23 | |||||||
| Total: | 72–40 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
- ^ Promoted to HC for 2015 bowl game
References
edit- ^ "Toledo Assistant Football Coach Jason Candle Named Top Recruiter in MAC by Scout.com". Toledo Rockets. February 8, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ Botos, Tim (August 20, 2017). "Mount Union football far and wide". Canton Repository. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ^ Autullo, Ryan (April 2, 2012). "Purple doctrine has merit". The Blade. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ Russo, Ralph D. (December 2, 2015). "AP Source: Toledo offensive coordinator Candle to head coach". Belleville News-Democrat. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ a b "Jason Candle Named Head Football Coach at Toledo". Toledo Rockets. December 2, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ Rubenstein, Alan (January 17, 2022). "Miami football going big targeting Toledo head coach Jason Candle as OC". Canes Warning. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ Evans, Thayer (December 2, 2015). "Toledo offensive coordinator Jason Candle to be Rockets head coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
- ^ "Boca Raton Bowl - Toledo vs Temple Box Score, December 22, 2015". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ^ "2016 Toledo Rockets Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "Camellia Bowl - Appalachian State vs Toledo Box Score, December 17, 2016". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "2017 Toledo Rockets Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "2017 Mid-American Conference Year Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "Akron vs Toledo Box Score, December 2, 2017". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "Dollar General Bowl - Appalachian State vs Toledo Box Score, December 23, 2017". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
- ^ "2022 Toledo Rockets Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Toledo vs Ohio Box Score, December 3, 2022". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "Boca Raton Bowl - Liberty vs Toledo Box Score, December 20, 2022". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "MAC Announces 2023 Postseason Football Awards & All-Conference Teams". Mid-American Conference. November 29, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Miami (Ohio) beats No. 23 Toledo 23-14 to win MAC championship". CBS Sports. Associated Press. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Toledo Rockets Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ "Toledo Rockets College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 11, 2024.