It used to be that NFL head coaches all had one thing in common: They were old. That’s old, relatively speaking. Go back 20 years and the league was full of guys who were over the age of 60, with the belief being that a coach had to pay their dues well into their late 40s as a coordinator before being considered to become a head coach.
NFL head coaches, ranked by age, shows how young the league is now
Andy Reid is now the NFL’s oldest head coach.
Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
That’s completely changed now. Seismic shifts in thinking, paired with coaches entering the ranks younger than ever before has led to a lot of teams taking risks on youth, hoping they can find a gem to carry a franchise for 20+ years. With the league’s two-oldest coaches stepping down this week in Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick, it now makes the league’s head coaches collectively younger than ever before.
Here’s a list of current NFL coaches by age
- Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs: 65
- John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: 61
- Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys: 60
- Todd Bowles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 60
- Sean Payton, Denver Broncos: 59
- Doug Pederson, Jacksonville Jaguars: 55
- Matt Eberflus, Chicago Bears: 53
- Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers: 51
- Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints: 51
- Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills: 49
- Brian Daboll, Detroit Lions: 48
- Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions: 47
- Robert Saleh, New York Jets: 44
- Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers: 44
- Kyle Shanahan: San Francisco 49ers: 43
- Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles: 42
- Kevan Stefanski, Cleveland Browns: 41
- Jonathan Gannon, Arizona Cardinals: 40
- Mike McDaniel, Miami Dolphins: 40
- Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals: 40
- DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans: 39
- Shane Steichen, Indianapolis Colts: 38
- Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings: 38
- Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams: 37
- Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots: 37
The average age of coaches in the NFL right now is 47.3. Over half those with full time jobs right now are under the age of 50. This number is likely to skew even lower after this hiring cycle, with top names for openings being Ben Johnson (37), Frank Smith (42), and Brian Flores (42).
The youth movement in the NFL isn’t going away any time soon.
See More:
