MAC head coach emerging as Michigan football OC candidate

With the transfer portal officially open, Michigan football needs to act quickly in terms of hiring an offensive coordinator to replace Kirk Campbell.

One name that continues to get mentioned by insiders is Toledo head coach Jason Candle. He's won 72 games in 10 seasons and led the Rockets to a pair of MAC championships. They have won 11 games twice and he's known as a sharp offensive mind.

He's also had success with quarterbacks like Bryce Underwood before, meaning guys who can run and pass. Candle has also been the head coach/offensive coordinator for Toledo since 2012.

So Candle is experienced. He's also a head coach now, which could help the program beyond just calling offensive plays. Another positive is that Candle is an Ohio native and spent time coaching at Mount Union.

I've mentioned Candle's name in the past for the Michigan football job and think he would do well as a Big Ten head coach. He'd be a steal as offensive coordinator. Other Power-4 programs have made a run at him. Ohio State even apparently had him on a short list if Chip Kelly didn't want to leave UCLA.

Candle could also help recruit the state of Ohio, making up for the loss of Clink, while also adding more to in-state recruiting too, especially in the Detroit Metro area.

Jason Candle is gaining traction as Michigan football offensive coordinator candidate

Chris Balas of The Wolverine.com discussed the Michigan football offensive coordinator opening and said Candle's name was one they kept hearing

"Jason Candle, we’ve been hearing his name a lot from the beginning as we posted on our first hotboard about a week ago or so since Kirk Campbell was let go. I like the name. He’s not the only name. There are some others they’re looking at, so we’ll see where it goes, but they got to get somebody in here pretty quickly because guys are going to want to know from the transfer portal who their offensive coordinator is going to be."

Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider has also mentioned Candle. Another name that Webb has heard is Byron Leftwich, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC. I like the idea of Candle or Joe Craddock a lot more than Leftwich. But that's just me.

Either way, the sooner Sherrone Moore makes a hire, the better.