It looks like the Patriots’ dynasty isn’t over yet – they are 8-0 and knifing through opponents with ruthlessness – but it must end someday... right? Maybe not as soon as you’d think. Tom Brady is showing signs of being a 42-year-old quarterback, but he’s the greatest of all-time for a reason. And Bill Belichick isn’t as close as once thought to hanging up the hoodie, either. The longtime head coach had always said he had no plans to coach into his 70s. Now 67, he’s open to a change of heart, telling WEEI that he might keep coaching.
Only five coaches have kept the headset on beyond age 67. In a NFL culture that’s progressively young – 20 percent of head coaches are aged 40 or younger – how has the old guard fared when staring 70 in the face? Here’s the precedent Belichick would be up against:
George Halas:
One of the game’s founding members, Halas is synonymous with the Bears – his initials, after all, still grace the jersey. Coaching for 36 years, Halas finally retired at age 72 as Chicago started to drift away from the NFL’s elite. After winning the NFL Championship in 1963, when GSH was 68, his final four years were mediocre, with the Bears going a combined 26-27-3.
Marv Levy:
In his mid-60s, he led Buffalo to four straight Super Bowl appearances, and he was still successful into his early 70s, going 10-6 in both 1995 and ’96. The Hall of Famer’s final year came at age 72 in 1997, when the Super Bowl core aged out and the Bills stumbled to a 6-10 finish and he thereafter retired. He did, however, return as Buffalo’s general manager in 2006 at age 80, a job he would hold for two years.
Tom Coughlin:
As a head coach, the two-time Super Bowl champion last appeared on the sidelines at age 69 with the Giants, back in 2015. After winning the Super Bowl in the 2011 season, New York slid from 9-7 to 7-9 to back-to-back 6-10 campaigns, ending with Coughlin’s (forced) resignation. Though his coaching days may be over, he’s still active running the ship in Jacksonville, where at age 73 he’s the Jaguars’ vice president of football operations and under contract through 2021.
Dick Vermeil:
After winning the Super Bowl with the Rams in 1999 and “retiring”, Vermeil returned to the sidelines in 2001 at age 65 to coach Kansas City. There from ages 65-69 it was a mixed bag of results with the Chiefs. There was the 13-3 finish in 2003 and a 10-6 campaign in his final year (2005) but they also missed the playoffs four times in five years and were a one-and-done in that ’03 season.
Pete Carroll:
He certainly doesn’t look it, but he’s actually the NFL’s oldest active coach and shows no signs of slowing down. He turned 68 in September and is under contract with Seattle through 2021, and like Belichick, he’s obviously still in touch with the game. He’s led the Seahawks to the playoffs in six of the last seven years, with a Super Bowl win and another appearance to his resume, and they’re off to a 6-2 start in 2019.
