MACON, Ga. — Mercer has tabbed the man to take over as its head football coach following Drew Cronic’s departure to take over the offensive coordinator at Navy.
Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Mike Jacobs has taken the job at Mercer and will be the football program’s third head coach since it restarted in 2013 following Bobby Lamb and Cronic.
Jacobs comes from the same school that Mercer hired Cronic away from. Jacobs carries an .813 win percentage going 74-17 across his two head coaching stops at Notre Dame College in Ohio and Lenoir-Rhyne. It is the nation’s sixth-best win percentage among active D1 and D2 schools.
He made the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs and finished the season with a 13-2 record.
"I want to thank the search committee members for their endless hours of work in identifying the next leader of our football program. It was a joy to work alongside them," said Mercer Athletics Director Jim Cole. "Our goal throughout this process was to find not only a leader with a track record of success, but also one who will continue to build on the success that our program has already experienced. Mike Jacobs shares our values and our vision for Mercer Football, but also think that he is a leader that young men will want to play for. I am excited to welcome Mike, his wife, Lacey, and their two sons, Luke and Knox, to the Mercer Bears family."
A three-time conference coach of the year recipient, he was also chosen as the National Coach of the Year in 2018 by Don Hansen's Football Gazette.
Jacobs succeeded Cronic at Lenoir-Rhyne before the 2020 season. During his time there he went 32-9 record over the last four seasons and won three league divisional titles as well as the 2023 South Atlantic Conference championship.
Jacobs, played on the offensive line for coaches John Cooper and Jim Tressel at Ohio State from 1997-2001.
"My family and I are humbled to be joining the Mercer University Football family," Jacobs said. "Mercer is an elite institution that has competed at the highest level both on the field and in the classroom. We look forward to immersing ourselves in both the campus community and the city of Macon. Go Bears!"