5 oldest head coaches in NFL history ft Pete Carroll, George Halas, Bill Belichick, and more

With the news that Pete Carroll will be appointed as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, he will most certainly break the record for the oldest NFL head coach in history. Let's take a look at the top 5 oldest NFL head coaches.

5 oldest head coaches in NFL history

#1, Pete Carroll (73 years and 131 days)

It could be considered preemptive to place Carroll at No. 1 since he doesn't hold the record yet, but he is set to exceed No. 2 in due course. Carroll just agreed to terms to become the new Las Vegas Raiders head coach.

Carroll brings with him a championship pedigree and is in an elite class of coaches, along with Barry Switzer, Jim Harbaugh, and Jimmy Johnson, to have won both the college football championship and the Super Bowl. Carroll spent 14 years as the Seattle Seahawks head coach, before transitioning to an advisor role this past season.

When he coaches his first game for the Raiders in September, he would break Romeo Crennel's record.

#2, Romeo Crennel (73 years and 199 days) - Oldest coach in history at time of writing

NFL: Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans - Source: Imagn

Romeo Crennel currently holds the record for oldest head coach in NFL history, at least for another 60-plus days. He is from the Bill Parcells coaching tree, having worked with Parcells with the New York Giants, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.

He was also with Bill Belichick as his defensive coordinator in the Patriots' three Super Bowl wins between 2001 and 2005. Crennel was the head coach of the Browns from 2005 to 2008, and the Kansas City Chiefs between 2011 and 2012.

He was named as interim head coach of the Houston Texans in October 2020 to take over the moniker as oldest head coach from George Halas, who previously held the record since 1967. Crennel never made the playoffs as a head coach.

#3, George Halas (72 years and 318 days)

Syndication: Arizona Republic - Source: Imagn

George Halas is synonymous with the Chicago Bears franchise. He was the owner, player, executive, and head coach at different points in his life. More famously, He was the person who gave the historic franchise the moniker of the 'Bears' and adopted the iconic dark blue and orange colors that the Bears wore for more than 100 years.

He began to coach the team when they were still called the Chicago Staleys in 1920. In his long tenure with the Bears, he was an eight-time NFL champion, with the last time being in 1963. Impressively, he only had six losing seasons in over 40 years of coaching.

He ended his coaching career in 1968 and focused on being an executive. He still holds the third most wins by an NFL coach, behind only Tom Shula and Bill Belichick. For 53 years, he was acknowledged as the oldest coach in NFL history and the NFC Championship trophy is named after him.

#4, Marv Levy (72 years and 139 days)

Syndication: Democrat and Chronicle - Source: Imagn

Marv Levy was a head coach in the NFL for 17 seasons. He first experienced success as the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League, before returning to the NFL to coach the Kansas City Chiefs in 1978.

He then had his most successful stint with the Buffalo Bills in 1986 before retiring in 1997. He led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, the most in NFL history. Unfortunately, the Bills fell short on all four occasions. He then retired in 1997.

#5, Bill Belichick (71 years and 269 days old)

NFL: Frankfurt Games-New England Patriots Practice - Source: Imagn

Bill Belichick is the most decorated head coach since the NFL-AFL merger. He has six Super Bowl rings from his time as the head coach of the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2023. He also had an unsuccessful stint as head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1995.

In addition to being the head coach with the most Super Bowl wins, Belichick is also second all-time in the all-time wins list for NFL head coaches. His 333 wins are just 14 away from Don Shula's 347.

Recently hired as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels football program, it is conceivable that he may return as an NFL head coach in the future and move up this list as the oldest head coach in history.