Is Pete Carroll the oldest head coach in the NFL? Listing the 5 oldest HCs in the league for 2025 season

Is Pete Carroll the oldest head coach in the NFL? Listing the 5 oldest HCs in the league for 2025 season

On January 24, the Las Vegas Raiders put their faith in a longtime NFL veteran, naming Carroll as their new head coach. Carroll had been just over a year removed from a lengthy tenure as the Seattle Seahawks head coach, where he guided them to a Super Bowl crown in the 2014 season.

In a league trending more towards hiring youthful coaches, the Raiders hope his experience will be an asset to a franchise with a 4-13 record in 2024.

NFL coaches at Caroll’s age or close to it are rare today, but many older coaches have found success. In fact, five of the six oldest head coaches in the NFL right now guided their respective teams to the playoffs in 2024. Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos, ranked sixth at 61 years and 26 days old, was among them at the time of Carroll’s hiring.

Here is a look at the top five coaches right now in the NFL.

1. Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll was the Seattle Seahawks head coach for 14 seasons, and the former four-time Rose Bowl-winning coach is still eager to be on the NFL sidelines. When the Raiders officially introduced him as their new head coach last month, he was 73 and 131 days old, making him the oldest current head coach in the NFL.

Barring a disastrous preseason and a massive meltdown, he’ll be a 74-year-old head coach. Carroll’s birthday is September 15, the same date that ESPN has scheduled a Monday Night Football broadcast for Week Two of the regular season.

During his tenure in Seattle, Carroll only had three losing seasons while winning five NFC West titles and making back-to-back Super Bowls.

2. Andy Reid

Since the late 90s, Andy Reid has been a mainstay on NFL sidelines and, at 66 year and 311 days at the time of Carroll’s hiring, is the second oldest active head coach.

Like Carroll he’s, he’s had many successful years in this league, making it to three straight Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs. His three victories in the big game are one fewer than Pittsburgh Steelers’ Chuck Noll achieved in his illustrious head coaching career.

Reid has guided the Chiefs to the post-season in all but one of his campaigns in charge (2014), making it to the AFC Championship Game on six consecutive occasions. Since being hired by the Chiefs, he has a winning percentage of .733 in the regular season. He’ll be 67 next month.

3. John Harbaugh

The Baltimore Ravens head coach is one of many names under the Andy Reid coaching tree who’s had tremendous success as an NFL head coach. The veteran, who was 62 years and 123 days old at the time of Carroll’s hiring, has been the Raven’s boss since 2008.

Over that span, he’s won six AFC North crowns, made five AFC Championship Games and won the Super Bowl in the 2012 campaign.

He’s boasted double-digit wins in his last four seasons in charge of the Ravens and has a regular-season winning percentage overall of .623. On September 23, the native of Toledo, Ohio, will be 63. Harbaugh was the NFL Coach of the Year in 2019 by the Associated Press.

4. Todd Bowles

Another disciple of Andy Reid, Todd Bowles has found a stable head-coaching position in Tampa.

When Bruce Arians retired to move into a consultant role, Bowles was promoted to the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in March 2022. At the time of Carroll’s hiring, he was 61 years and 67 days old.

Before his years in Tampa, he had a brief stint as the interim head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 2011, going 2-1. That led to four seasons with the New York Jets, winning just 24 games over that span.

Since getting another shot as a head coach Bowles has made the most of it, guiding the Bucs to the NFC South title in each of the past three seasons.

5. Jim Harbaugh

John’s brother, Jim Harbaugh, returned to the NFL this past season after many hugely successful years at the University of Michigan. Since leaving the San Francisco 49ers at the end of 2014, his name had often been mentioned in connection with NFL coaching vacancies.

10 years later, in his first season with the Los Angeles Chargers, Harbaugh went 11-6, leading them back to the playoffs. As an NFL head coach, Jim Harbaugh has an impressive .685 winning percentage overall. He made the Super Bowl with the Niners in 2012, but his brother got the better of him on that occasion.

In his five seasons as an NFL head coach, he only missed the playoffs once, in his final season in San Fran in 2014.

Oldest all-time NFL head coaches

Should Carroll find success in Vegas, it won’t be long before he becomes the oldest head coach in NFL history.

At the moment, that honor belongs to Romeo Crennel, who coached his last game when he was 73 years and 199 days old. The late George Halas coached until the age of 72 years and 318 days, followed by Marv Levy, who guided the Buffalo Bills to four successive Super Bowl appearances in the 90s and was coaching until he was 72 years and 139 days old.

At the time of Carroll’s last game as the Seahawks coach, he was 72 and 117 days old, while Bill Belichick was 71 and 269 days old when he and the New England Patriots parted ways. Carroll will move up to No. 1 on that all-time list when Week One of the regular season begins in September.