Jason Candle’s football journey has always been rooted in excellence - and it’s not just about wins and losses. It’s about culture, development, and building something that lasts. And if you trace that journey back, it all starts with one of the most successful coaching minds college football has ever seen: Larry Kehres.
Kehres, the legendary Mount Union coach, retired with a jaw-dropping 332 wins and 11 Division III national titles. He walked away from the game with the highest winning percentage in NCAA history - a staggering 92.9%.
But as remarkable as those numbers are, what might be just as impressive is the coaching tree he cultivated along the way. Jason Candle is one of the most prominent branches.
Candle’s roots at Mount Union run deep. He was a two-time national champion as a player, then added three more rings as an assistant coach.
During his eight years at the program, he was part of a football machine that didn’t just win - it developed future leaders of the game. That 2005 staff alone reads like a who's who of football minds: Nick Sirianni, now leading the Philadelphia Eagles; Matt Campbell, who just took over at Penn State; Matt Caponi, former North Texas defensive coordinator; and Vince Kehres, Larry’s son and now the defensive coordinator at Syracuse.
“It was a time of young guys enjoying learning about the game and growing as coaches,” Kehres said. “I gave them a lot of responsibilities to see what they would do with it. They enjoyed that and did quite well with it while sharing ideas.”
That collaborative, growth-focused environment wasn’t just about X’s and O’s. It was about building a football culture - one that Candle has carried with him at every stop since.
As a player, Candle was a technician. A wide receiver who didn’t just run routes - he ran them with such precision that Kehres used his film to teach younger players.
That kind of attention to detail, Kehres said, is often a sign of a future coach. Candle’s senior year stats back it up: 62 catches, 1,277 yards, 12 touchdowns - including five catches for 120 yards in a national title game win over Bridgewater.
After graduation, Kehres didn’t let him go far. Candle joined the staff as a graduate assistant, then became wide receivers coach and eventually offensive coordinator.
During that time, he coached a young Nick Sirianni, while working alongside Campbell and Vince Kehres. It was a tight-knit group of rising minds who were putting in long hours and building something special.
“To use the word fun is kind of a stretch because of how much work it was,” Kehres said, “but we kind of enjoyed what we were doing.”
That camaraderie and continuity continued at Toledo. Candle followed Campbell there in 2009, eventually taking over as head coach in 2016 when Campbell left for Iowa State. Just like at Mount Union, Candle stepped into the OC role after Campbell, then took over the program when Campbell moved on - a seamless transition that speaks volumes about the trust and consistency they built.
And Candle has delivered. In his 10 seasons leading the Rockets, he’s never had a losing record.
His offenses have been consistently explosive - averaging 400+ yards per game in nine of those seasons and topping 31 points per game in eight. But it’s not about flashy schemes or trick plays.
Kehres says Candle’s strength lies in his ability to call the right play at the right time.
“You can be running some hair-brained scheme that looks different from what everyone else is doing, but if you are losing every game, you are not going to have much credibility,” Kehres said. “Jason has credibility, because he has earned it.”
Still, for all the talk about Candle’s offensive mind, Kehres believes his greatest asset might be his work on the recruiting trail. Back when Mount Union’s conference rules changed to allow off-campus recruiting, Kehres leaned on Candle to blaze a new path - literally. Candle became the first Mount Union coach to recruit in Florida, and he made it count.
“He developed great relationships down there that are still productive for him and us,” Kehres said. “That was like 2007, so for the last 18 years if you check the rosters of the teams Jason worked with, you will find a group of Florida guys who were outstanding.”
There’s no magic formula to being a great recruiter, Kehres added. It’s about relentless effort. Candle has always had that gear.
Now, as Candle takes over at UConn, he brings with him not just a winning resume, but a blueprint for building a program - one rooted in culture, detail, and hard work. And he’s stepping into a place that knows what it means to compete at the highest level.
“UConn knows what excellence looks like, sounds like, smells like and feels like,” Kehres said. “They just do.
When you have a sense of what that is in an athletic department, that can get catchy. That can be like the measles.
It can be infectious and spread.”
For Candle, that environment might be the perfect match. He’s a coach who learned from the best, built his path step by step, and now has the opportunity to elevate a program that’s hungry for sustained success.
And if history is any indication, he’s more than ready for the challenge.