CLEVELAND — The Kehres family has been synonymous with the football program at the University of Mount Union since 1986, but that is a decades-long run which appears to be coming to an end for the NCAA Division III powerhouse.
According to Brian Buckey of The Blade newspaper in Toledo, Vince Kehres is expected to leave the program for an assistant coach position at the University of Toledo. Kehres was elevated to the position of head coach of the Purple Raiders after his College Football Hall of Fame father’s retirement following the National Championship victory that capped off Mount Union’s 2012 season.
The report says that Kehres, a long-time defensive coach for the Purple Raiders before ascending to the head coach position, will accept a defensive assistant position. Although his “role has not been finalized,” sources told The Blade it will be either as the linebackers coach/assistant head coach or defensive coordinator.
In seven seasons as head coach at Mount Union, Kehres posted a 95-6 overall record, including a 54-1 mark against Ohio Athletic Conference competition. The Purple Raiders won six OAC regular-season titles and two national championships (2015, 2017) under the younger Kehres.
Kehres had a .949 winning percentage and posted the most wins by any college coach in the last seven years (2012-2019).
During nearly 20 years with the program, Kehres was part of 12 of Mount Union’s 13 national championships, two as a player, eight as an assistant and two as the head coach.
Toledo Rockets head coach Jason Candle is a 2003 graduate of Mount Union. After an All-Ohio Athletic Conference career, Candle began his coaching career with the Purple Raiders, was on a staff that went 83-4 and won three national championships as an assistant to go along with the two he helped win as a player.