At the heart of the Toledo Football program’s success over the past 12 years seven-year stint as a position coach and offensive coordinator. He has since embarked on a quest that has taken an already outstanding program to even recruiting class in the MAC each year from 2017-2021. 2009-15, and then as head coach for the past five seasons. He assumed the head coaching role in December of 2015 following a highly successful has been one man—Head Coach, Jason Candle. Candle has played a major role in the consistent excellence of the Rockets, first as an assistant coach from greater heights. In five seasons as Toledo’s head coach, Candle’s record is 38-21 including four bowl appearances. In addition, a record six Rockets have been selected in the NFL Draft since 2017, and Toledo has signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the MAC each year from 2017-2021.

Academic excellence is a top priority for Candle and his staff. In the spring of 2021, the Rockets earned a 3.046 GPA, the fourth time that the Toledo football team has surpassed the 3.0 GPA mark since Candle became the head coach. The all-time mark came in the spring of 2020, when the Rockets earned a team-record 3.270 GPA during the first semester of the COVID 19 pandemic. Additionally, the Rockets have led the Mid-American Conference in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) in six of the past seven years in which the data was released to the public, with marks of 983, 981, 975, 981 and 977 in the past five years. Strong APRs are a good indicator that a program is graduating its student athletes. A total of 78 Rockets have earned degrees in the past four years, and at least 17 active players will enter the 2022 season with their bachelor’s degree already in hand.

Coach Candle has worked to consistently add talent to the Toledo program, signing the No. 1 recruiting class in the MAC each of the past five years. Candle’s first recruiting class as Toledo’s head coach in 2016 was rated No. 2 in the MAC by ESPN.com despite the fact that he assumed the head coaching job just two months before Signing Day. Even more impressive is the fact that all but two of Candle’s assistant coaches were new to the program during the critical final two months of the recruiting season. Recruiting excellence is nothing new for Candle. As an assistant coach, he was regularly mentioned among the nation’s top recruiters, including being nationally recognized by Rivals in 2010. He was one of only nine coaches in the country from Group of Five conferences to be named to the list and the only coach from the MAC. Candle was also named the MAC “Recruiter of the Year” by Scout.com in both 2011 and 2012 after Toledo’s 2011 recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the MAC by both Scout and Rivals. In 2014, Candle was one of only two MAC assistants to be named among the top recruiters in the Group of Five conferences by Rivals.