Five things to know about Jason Candle, the new UConn football head coach

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The UConn football program announced Jason Candle as its next head coach on Saturday morning.

The former Toledo head coach, who recently completed his fifth-consecutive winning season and his ninth in 10 years with the Rockets, was in Storrs over the weekend to work out a six-year deal through 2031.

Candle, 46, will be tasked with continuing the program’s momentum, which has been steadily building since the Huskies hired Jim Mora ahead of the 2022 season. Mora departed for Colorado State a day before Thanksgiving and put together a 27-23 record over his four years in Connecticut, including three bowl appearances. The Huskies have a chance at their first 10-win season since transitioning to the FBS level in 2000 when interim head coach Gordon Sammis leads them into their bowl game, which will be announced Sunday.

Here are five things to know about Candle:

A proven winner

In 10 full seasons as head coach at Toledo, Candle led the Rockets to 80 wins and just 44 losses. His tenure, which began in 2015 when he was promoted to head coach for the Rockets’ bowl game after Matt Campbell left for Iowa State, covers nine winning seasons and a 3-5 record in bowl games. Winning that initial bowl in 2015, Candle’s 81 career victories make him the winningest coach in Toledo football history.

Under his leadership, the Rockets have won two Mid-American Conference Championship titles (2017, 2022) and three MAC West Division crowns. Candle led Toledo to a 2-0 record over Power Four opponents in 2024, including a six-overtime victory over Pittsburgh in the GameAbove Sports Bowl, and has had one-score losses to Kentucky, Illinois and Notre Dame in recent history.

Star recruiter

Candle comes to the Huskies after recently signing the highest-rated recruiting class in MAC history. It was the eighth time under Candle that Toledo brought in the top class in the MAC. The Rockets’ 2026 class was ranked 71st nationally by 247Sports, ahead of several Power Four programs, and includes 24 players who signed their letters of intent, several of whom could follow Candle.

Candle has had 10 players selected in the NFL Draft, including cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who was Toledo’s first first-round pick in 31 years when he was picked by the Philadelphia Eagles 22nd overall in 2024. He also coached tackle Darius Alexander into a third-round pick of the New York Giants last year and has coached players like Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt and Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who is currently with the Cleveland Browns. Safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren figures to make it four years in a row that a Toledo player has heard his name in the NFL Draft.

Offensive history

The two-time MAC Coach of the Year came up through the ranks of Division III power house Mount Union, where he started as a wide receivers coach from 2003-06 before being promoted to offensive coordinator for two seasons. He got to Toledo in 2009 as a slot receivers and tight ends coach and continued to move up the ranks until becoming offensive coordinator and finally head coach in 2015.

Toledo’s offense has been consistently successful, averaging over 400 yards per game in nine of his 10 seasons as head coach. The Rockets averaged 421.8 yards per game in 2025, scoring 31.6 points per game and averaging 244 yards per game through the air and 177.8 on the ground.

A step out of his comfort zone

Born and raised in Salem, Ohio, Candle played wide receiver at Geneva College in Pennsylvania before transferring to D-III powerhouse Mount Union, where he stayed after graduating to join the staff as a receivers coach. He went from there to Toledo, making UConn his first coaching position outside of Ohio.

While he was at Mount Union, Candle played with current Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and then became his coach and later his roommate when Sirianni also joined the staff.

“UConn has hired an excellent head coach, and an even better person in Jason Candle,” Sirianni said about the hiring, according to a release from UConn. “I’m excited to watch Jason lead the Huskies into the future and congratulate UConn on realizing the special person Jason is and how that can benefit the University. I wish my friend and his new team nothing but the best.”

Still learning

Candle has been coaching for almost half of his life, but he is still eager to learn and refine his craft. He paid a visit to Super Bowl champion Jon Gruden at his “Fired Football Coaches Association” in Tampa, Fla. after last season and participated in a Barstool Sports video series where he studied film with Gruden and former New York Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez. Candle’s focus in that video was on learning new ways to develop his offensive operations and give his quarterback more freedom at the line of scrimmage.

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