The 5 Oldest Head Coaches In College Football In 2024
12/12/2024 12:25 PM
Newly-minted North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick has never been afraid to make some history and he's certainly done just that in taking over as head coach of the Tar Heels.
At 72 years of age, Belichick ranks among the oldest first-time college football head coaches in history. His previous five decades as a football coach have nearly all been at the NFL level.
So where does Belichick rank among the oldest coaches in the sport today? It shouldn't be a surprise that he ranks near the top.
Let's take a look at who the five oldest coaches in FBS college football are today and how they got to where they are now:
5. Curt Cignetti, Indiana - 63 years old (130–36 record in college)
It took Cignetti a comparatively long time to finally get his first head coaching job, which came with the IUP Crimson Hawks in 2011 at the age of 50 after previously working for Nick Saban at Alabama.
But as Cignetti himself will happily tell you, he's won everywhere he's been and the success he's had with the once-hapless Hoosiers this year is his greatest achievement by far. His 11-win season in Bloomington is already a school record for wins in a season, and now he has the team just three wins away from a national championship.
4. Willie Fritz, Houston - 64 years old (212–124 record in college, 39–5–1 record in junior college)
Unlike Cignetti, Fritz got his first taste of being a college football head coach when he was still in his early-30s. Though much like Cignetti, Fritz has also found success just about everywhere he's been. He won a junior college national title at Blinn, conference titles at Central Missouri (Division II), Sam Houston State (FCS), Georgia State and Tulane before taking the Houston job in 2024.
Fritz's first season with the Cougars was an underwhelming 4-8 campaign that saw them miss bowl eligibility, but he's only had consecutive losing seasons once in his entire career. If Houston has the patience, Fritz should be able to deliver.
3. Kyle Whittingham, Utah - 65 years old (167–86 record in college)
Utah football has been a part of Whittingham's identity for nearly half of his life. He started working there in 1994 under head coach Will McBride and his father, and has not left Salt Lake City since.
In 21 seasons with the Utes, Whittingham has won three conference titles and 11 bowl games while leading the team to nine top 25 finishes. The 2008 season was arguably the crown jewel of his career as he led the team to a 13-0 record and a No. 2 finish in the AP poll.
2. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa - 69 years old (216-144 record in college)
By far the second-most successful disciple of Bill Belichick to coach in the college ranks (and that's no insult), Ferentz's 26 years at Iowa have turned it into a powerhouse that nearly any program would be happy to enjoy as much consistency.
While the Hawkeyes may not be national title contenders on any regular basis, the team has enjoyed 12 straight winning seasons and 21 winning seasons since he took over in 1999. Iowa enjoyed three straight No. 8 finishes and two Big Ten titles between 2002 and 2004, and 11 top 25 finishes throughout his career with the program.
1. Bill Belichick, UNC - 72 years old (0-0 record in college, 302-165 record in NFL)
What can we say about Belichick that even the most casual of football fans doesn't already know? What he lacks in college coaching experience he more than makes up for as the most successful NFL coach of all-time.
Belichick is an eight-time Super Bowl champion, winning two rings as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants under Bill Parcells in the 1980s and early-1990s, and six more with Tom Brady during his 24-year tenure with the New England Patriots from 2000 to 2023. No other person in NFL history has more rings than he does.
But not every coach who can succeed in the NFL can succeed in college, and Belichick's own NFL record with any quarterback not named Tom Brady is spotty at best.
Related: Bill Belichick Has 'Agreed' To Become UNC's Next Head Coach
