Where does 72-year-old Pete Carroll rank among the oldest coaches in NFL history?
After a stellar 14 years with the Seattle Seahawks, Pete Carroll was relieved from his head coaching position the morning of Jan. 10, 2024 in what is called a mutual agreement. Surely, this day will go down in infamy in the Pacific Northwest.
The Seahawks just wrapped up a 9-8 season that saw Seattle miss the playoffs. However, 2023 was Seattle's 11th winning season in the last 12 years.
Carroll had a .606 winning percentage with the Seahawks, a much better performance than what he accomplished with the New York Jets and New England Patriots (combined .516 win rate). On the day of his firing, Carroll was 72 years, 117 days old, the oldest active coach in the NFL. However, he isn't the oldest coach of all-time. In fact, he's not even the oldest coach in recent memory.
Here are the five oldest head coaches in NFL history.
End of an era: Pete Carroll out as Seattle Seahawks coach in stunning end to 14-year run leading team
Oldest coaches in NFL history:
5. Bill Belichick: 71 years, 269 days
Belichick could still break the all-time record for oldest head coach in NFL history. However, it doesn't seem likely. Many have speculated that Belichick has coached his last game with the Patriots, meaning he would rank fifth all-time on this list. There's always the chance that Belichick decides he can't live without football after all. If Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski can unretire, you can bet Belichick can as well.
What hasn't been said about Belichick's career at this point? He's a six-time Super Bowl champion head coach, the most all-time. He has the third most wins (302) and the third best win percentage of head coaches with at least 15 years on their resume (.647). Should he choose to retire now? He'd be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible. In fact, Belichick could probably go 0-17 for six more years and still be a Hall of Famer.
4. Pete Carroll: 72 years, 117 days
Just ahead of Belichick is where Carroll ranks. Carroll is a two-time NFC champ, Super Bowl 48 champ, and was even an assistant coach of the year as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. Carroll's firing comes at an interesting time given that the Seahawks just wrapped up a 9-8 season, making him and George Halas the only coaches on this list to coach their final NFL game after recording a winning record. Of course, Halas did it with just 14 games on the schedule.
Where the Seahawks were supposed to be one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2022, Carroll shocked the world by rejuvenating quarterback Geno Smith's career and earning a spot in the playoffs. The Seahawks were in the hunt for the playoffs in 2023 as well, but fell one game short.
3. Marv Levy: 72 years, 139 days
Levy started his career as a head coach rather late. He retired in 1997 after only 17 years as a head coach, and that includes just a three year gap between 1983 and 1985 where Levy did not serve as a head coach. Rather, Levy spent 1984 as the head coach of the Chicago Blitz in the USFL before returning to the NFL as the Bills' head coach in 1986.
Levy was the head coach of the infamous Buffalo Bills teams that went to four straight Super Bowls between 1991 and 1994 but couldn't secure any Super Bowl victories. Outside of those four years though, Levy only have five seasons with a winning record. His final season resulted in a 6-10 finish.
2. George Halas: 72, 318 days
It takes a few minutes to scroll down the entirety of George Halas's Pro-Football-Reference page. The man was a great coach for a very long time, retiring in 1967, just four years after his sixth NFL Championship. Halas is considered by many to be the godfather of great NFL head coaches, alongside Vince Lombardi.
1. Romeo Crennel: 73 years, 199 days
Surprisingly, the oldest head coach in NFL history was only a head coach through parts of seven seasons, and only coached five of those seasons for the full 16 games. Crennel's legacy as a coach revolves more around his time as a defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. He spent nearly thrice as many games in those positions as he did as a head coach.
Crennel retired from football in 2022. His final game as a head coach came on Jan. 3, 2021 though, as the interim head coach for the Houston Texans. The Texans were widely regarded as one of the worst teams in the NFL that season, but Crennel managed to salvage a .333 win rate as their head coach. The team still earned the third overall pick though. Of course, they didn't have that pick because they traded it away to Miami for Laremy Tunsil a few years prior. All in all, for what was a very poorly run organization, Crennel did well with what he had.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 72-year-old Pete Carroll and the oldest coaches in NFL history
