Mike Jacobs
Mike Jacobs went 99–25 as a head coach, 2016–2026, at Notre Dame, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mercer and Toledo. Wikipedia’s season articles record one season differently (2026, 4–2); by them his record is 98–25. Share
10 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 2016–19 at Notre Dame; 2020–23 at Lenoir-Rhyne; 2024–25 at Mercer. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 99–25 career
- Seasons
- 11
- Schools
- 4
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Alma mater
- Ohio State 2001
- Best season
- 2026 5–2
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Notre Dame * | 9–2 | 2nd | |||
| 2017 | Notre Dame * | 8–3 | T–2nd | |||
| 2018 | Notre Dame * | 13–1 | 1st | NCAA Division II Semifinal L | 4 | |
| 2019 | Notre Dame * | 12–2 | 1st | NCAA Division II Quarterfinal L | 10 | |
| 2020 | Lenoir-Rhyne * | 3–1 | 1st | |||
| 2021 | Lenoir-Rhyne * | 8–3 | T–2nd | NCAA Division II First Round L | ||
| 2022 | Lenoir-Rhyne * | 8–3 | T–1st | |||
| 2023 | Lenoir-Rhyne * | 13–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division II Semifinal L | 4 | |
| 2024 | Mercer * | 11–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinal L | 8 | |
| 2025 | Mercer * | 9–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round L | 17 | |
| 2026 | Toledo | 5–2 (Wikipedia: 4–2) |
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference games | 3 | 2–1 | 67% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| At home | 4 | 3–1 | 75% |
| On the road | 3 | 2–1 | 67% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 7 | 5–2 | 71% |
His own seven games on file, 2026, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Stateseries | 1 | 1–0 |
| Templeseries | 1 | 1–0 |
| Ball Stateseries | 1 | 1–0 |
| Central Connecticutseries | 1 | 1–0 |
| Eastern Michiganseries | 1 | 1–0 |
| Michigan Stateseries | 1 | 0–1 |
| Buffaloseries | 1 | 0–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | Eastern Michigan | Graduate assistant | |
| 2004 | Wilmington | Offensive line coach | |
| 2005–07 | Purdue | Graduate assistant | |
| 2008–13 | California (PA) | Defensive line coach | |
| 2014 | Notre Dame (OH) | Defensive line coach | |
| 2015 | Notre Dame (OH) | Defensive coordinator | |
| 2016–19 | Notre Dame (OH) | Head coach | |
| 2020–23 | Lenoir-Rhyne | Head coach | |
| 2024–25 | Mercer | Head coach | |
| 2026–present | Toledo | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- John CooperOhio State
- Jeff WoodruffEastern Michigan
- Al LavanEastern Michigan
- Joe TillerPurdue
Assistants who became head coaches
- Mickey MentalWeber State, Notre Dame (OH)
- Cris ReisertTiffin, Gardner-Webb
Worked under (4)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Cooper | Ohio State | 1997–99 | Offensive coordinator | |
| Jeff Woodruff | Eastern Michigan | 2002–03 | Graduate assistant | |
| Al Lavan | Eastern Michigan | 2003 | Graduate assistant | |
| Joe Tiller | Purdue | 2005–07 | Graduate assistant |
Coached under him, later head coaches (2)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Mental | Notre Dame (OH), 2016–19: offensive coordinator | Weber State, Notre Dame (OH) | |
| Cris Reisert | Toledo, 2026: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach | Tiffin, Gardner-Webb |
Other assistants under him (1)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Jahmal Brown | Toledo, 2026: defensive coordinator |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
How he coached
Jacobs’s teams went for it on 35% of fourth downs and on 42% of those where the model said go for it, passed on 48% of plays and took 24.8 seconds a play, in 2026.
| Season | Went for it on fourth | When the model said go | Pass rate | Seconds a play | EPA a play | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 7 g | 18 of 51 35% | 42% | 48% | 24.8 | +0.14 |
His seasons as a head coach from 2004 on, from ESPN’s play by play: fourth downs where he went for it out of every fourth-down decision; how often he went when SportsDataverse’s fourth-down model said going for it was the better call; the share of his offense’s plays that were passes; seconds of game clock per offensive play (lower is faster); and expected points added per offensive play (EPA, a measure of how much each play moved the offense toward points). The season in progress counts its games so far. SportsDataverse’s coach tendencies, from ESPN’s play by play; the EPA and the fourth-down model are SportsDataverse’s.