Mercer head coach Mike Jacobs is leaving for the same position with the Toledo Rockets. In two seasons at Mercer, Jacobs went 20-6 overall, 15-1 in the Southern Conference, captured two SoCon titles, and was named the conference’s Coach of the Year both times.
Mercer named Jacobs head coach in January 2024 to replace Drew Cronic, who took the offensive coordinator role at Navy. Cronic went 28-17 overall and 22-10 in SoCon games, with the momentum carried on by Jacobs. In 2024, the Bears started 6-0 before falling to Samford. Mercer rebounded by winning four of the last five to secure the SoCon title. Mercer received a bye to the second round as the 7th overall seed, but fell to North Dakota State in the quarterfinals. The Bears finished 11-3 in 2024. During the offseason, Jacobs received a contract extension through the 2029 season.
Expectations were high for Mercer coming into the 2025 season. The Bears faced UC Davis in the FCS Kickoff, but inclement weather forced the game to be declared a no contest with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter and the Bears trailing 23-17. The following week, Mercer was stunned by Presbyterian at home, 15-10, and fell out of the rankings. Jacobs then turned to freshman Braden Atkinson at quarterback, which helped turn the season around.
Mercer went on to win the next 9 games and clinched the SoCon title for the second season in a row. Atkinson was named the Jerry Rice Award winner, given to the top freshman player in the FCS. Mercer was given the 6th overall seed and a first round bye in the 2025 FCS playoffs. In the second round matchup, the Bears were overwhelmed by South Dakota, losing 47-0, as Atkinson had his worst game of the season. Mercer finished the 2025 season at 9-3 overall.
Prior to joining Mercer, Jacobs was the head coach at a pair of NCAA Division II schools. From 2016 through 2019, he led Notre Dame College in Ohio. The Falcons went 42-8 and 35-5 in the Mountain East Conference in his four seasons, with the final two resulting in deep D-II playoff runs. From 2020 through 2023, he was the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne, where he went 32-9 overall, 24-5 in South Atlantic Conference games, and reached the D-II playoffs twice.
For his career, Jacobs is 94-23 overall, 74-11 in conference games. He won five conference titles, made six playoff appearances, and never had a losing season. Other than the 3-1 campaign in the COVID-impact 2020-21 season, Jacobs hasn’t won fewer than 8 games as a head coach.
Jacobs is the 12th FCS coaching change to occur in the current cycle. Albany (CAA), Bucknell (Patriot League), Cal Poly (Big Sky), Florida A&M (SWAC), Hampton (CAA), Penn (Ivy League), Portland State (Big Sky), Sacramento State (Big Sky), Samford (SoCon), Southern (SWAC), and Weber State (Big Sky) have also announced changes. The full list of changes can be found here.
Photo Credit to Mercer University Athletics
