After graduating, Candle stayed on at Mount Union and joined the coaching staff as the wide receivers coach, a job he held from 2003 to 2006. In 2007, Mount Union promoted him to offensive coordinator, replacing
Matt Campbell, who had joined the staff at
Bowling Green.
Toledo Candle left Mount Union in 2009 to become the slot receivers/tight ends coach at Toledo under
Tim Beckman. He was reunited there with Campbell, then serving as run game coordinator. Toledo promoted Candle to wide receivers coach in 2010, where he coached
All-American Eric Page. Toledo promoted Campbell to head coach at the end of 2011 after Beckman became head coach at the
University of Illinois. Campbell retained Candle and promoted him to offensive coordinator. Candle added the title of associate head coach in 2014. He won his head coaching debut in the
Boca Raton Bowl 32–17 over
Temple. In his first full season as the Rockets' head coach in 2016, Candle went 9–3 in the regular season. The team made the
Camellia Bowl and lost 31–28 to
Appalachian State. In the 2017 season, Candle led the team to a 10–2 regular season mark, which won the MAC West. The team won 45–28 over
Akron in the
MAC Championship. The Rockets' season ended with a loss to
Appalachian State in the
Dollar General Bowl. In the 2022 season, Candle led the team to a 7–5 regular season mark that qualified for the
MAC Championship. Toledo defeated
Ohio 17–7 to win the MAC. Toledo defeated
Liberty in the
Boca Raton Bowl 21–19. In 2023, Candle led the Rockets to a perfect MAC record and won MAC Coach of the Year. They were upset by
Miami in the
MAC Championship game. The team finished with a 11–3 record. He joined Frank Lauterbur as the only head coaches in school history with multiple 11-win seasons. In the 2024 season, Candle led the Rockets to a 7–5 mark in the regular season highlighted by a 41–17 victory at
Mississippi State. The Rockets won the
GameAbove Sports Bowl 48–46 over
Pitt in six overtimes to finish 8–5. After defeating
Western Kentucky in 2025, Candle surpassed
Gary Pinkel for the most wins by a head coach in Toledo football history with 74. He led the Rockets to a 8–4 mark in the regular season in 2025. He did not coach the bowl game.
Connecticut On December 6, 2025, it was announced that Candle had signed a six-year contract to become the head football coach at the
University of Connecticut, succeeding
Jim L. Mora. His hire was first reported by Connecticut news station WFSB. ==Head coaching record==