Candle's Assistant Coach Hires Are Great News for Rockets
By Paul Helgren, Associate Athletic Director for Communications
Jan. 31, 2020
The hiring of assistant football coaches is usually not major news.
Not this time.
The recent addition of three Rocket assistant football coaches was newsworthy indeed, both in Toledo and in the college coaching world. And why not? Vince Kehres, Craig Kuligowski and Robert Weiner are all noteworthy coaches in their own right. But for head coach Jason Candle to manage to pull off the hiring of all three is nothing short of a coup. To say they know what it takes to be champions would be an understatement.
Kehres, who will be the Rockets’ new defensive coordinator, was 95-6 in his seven seasons as head coach at Mount Union (Candle’s alma mater) and won two Division III national titles. No coach at any level of college football won more games over that span. He has also been a part of 10 other national title teams at Mount Union as either a player or assistant coach under his father, the legendary Larry Kehres. Candle and Kehres coached together for the Purple Raiders in 2007-08.
Kuligowski, a two-time first-team All-MAC offensive lineman for the Rockets in 1989-90, will serve as co-defensive coordinator and defensive ends coach. He has an impressive coaching resume going back to his days as an assistant under Gary Pinkel at Toledo from 1992-2000. He followed Pinkel to Missouri, where he served for 15 years as the defensive line coach. He was a part of three Big 12 North Division champions and two SEC East Division champs, producing 24 all-conference players and 12 NFL draft picks during his tenure. He later served as the D-line coach at Miami (Fla.) for two seasons under Mark Richt, and for one season at Alabama under Nick Saban, his coach at Toledo in 1990.
Weiner, who will coach the quarterbacks, led Plant High School in Tampa to four state championships in his 16 years as head coach. Consider that before Weiner’s tenure, Plant had never won a state title and was 1-19 in the two seasons prior to his arrival. Weiner has mentored four quarterbacks who went on to play at the Division I level, including former Rocket Phillip Ely.
The benefits of these hires should pay dividends on the field as well as on the recruiting trail. With the graduation of Mitchell Guadagni, Weiner will be key to helping Toledo nurture its next starting quarterback. Just as important perhaps, are the recruiting connections he has in the talent-rich state of Florida. The Rockets had 19 Floridians on their roster last year; that number could increase in the years to come, hopefully with stars like Ely and NFL All-Pro receiver Diontae Johnson included in their ranks.
Kehres was a highly successful defensive coordinator at Mount Union before he was the head coach, so he will undoubtedly bring new ideas and energy to that side of the ball. And his longtime relationships with high school coaches in the state of Ohio will certainly benefit the Rockets’ efforts in their No. 1 recruiting pool.
Kuligowski has worked with some of the best football minds in the game. His defenses at Missouri were among the best in the Big 12 and later in the SEC. And he has recruiting connections, well, everywhere.
Candle will be the first one to tell you that the margin between success and failure in college football is razor thin, so bringing in new assistant coaches is no guarantee of success. But history is prologue, as they say, and you have to like the odds of success for the Rocket Football program going forward with these three added to the ranks of an already talented coaching staff.
Just 218 days till the season opener at Tulsa on Sept. 5!
Go Rockets!
