Average tenure of an NFL Head Coach

[Stewey]

...is only 3.2 years.
That tells me two things which are conflicting:

1. We are way overdue.
2. Coaching changes are overrated, in that hiring a new coach most often doesn't bring success.

Which way do you lean? I lean a little more towards 2.
I wouldn't be going out on a limb to guess most everyone leans towards 1, .......to the point of falling over LOL

(written prior to Belicheck retiring obviously)
Over the past decade, the average tenure of a newly hired NFL Head Coach lasts 3.2 years, and during this period only five Head Coaches in the NFL have kept their job for a 10-year period of time. All five men - Bill Belichick (71 years old) now in his 28th season, his 23rd with the Patriots, Andy Reid (65 years old) now in his 25th season, his 11th with the Chiefs, Pete Carroll (71 years old) now in his 17th season, his 13th with the Seahawks, Mike Tomlin (51 years old) now in his 16th season with the Steelers, and John Harbaugh (61 years old) now in his 15th season with the Ravens have won a Super Bowl with their Current Franchise.

Other long time NFL Head Coaches currently leading teams who have won Super Bowls with past teams are Mike McCarthy (60 years old) in his 16th season, his 4th year with the Cowboys, Sean Payton (59 years old) in his 17th season, his 1st with the Broncos, and Doug Pederson (55 years old) now in his 7th season, his 2nd with the Jaguars.

The turnover rate for NFL Head Coaches is about 25 percent each season. That's an average of 8 per year. If you removed the aforementioned coaches from the equation, the turnover rate would be even worse.

There were five New Head Coaches hired in 2023, Shane Steichen (Colts), Sean Payton (Broncos), DeMeco Ryans (Texans), Frank Reich (Panthers/Fired), and Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals). Only 10 of the league's 32 Head Coaches were hired before 2020. Since the AFC and NFC merger in 1970, there have been 32 one and done NFL Head Coaches that have been fired either during or after their first year on the job.

 

[xjx]

Coaching changes are over rated. Our coach keeps us in the middle. New hire Demico Ryan's went straight to the top.

 

[Badcat]

I don't believe it is as black and white as The Steelers are overdue or coaching changes are over-rated.

You have coaches like Tomlin with no head coaching experience who inherit a strong team with a strong coaching staff and then you have Doug Peterson who is a SB winning head coach who has inherited a lousy team and coaching staff. Tomlin has found early success, and that makes sense given his inheritance which contrasts with Petterson who inherited a lousy team with 3 wins and turned them into two 9-8 seasons back to back. But, is that good enough in either case?

Steelers ownership is known for consistency and stability and "never having a losing season" has been viewed as acceptable for far too many years to us fans, and few organizations would have been so patient with their head coach. The Jaguars may just tell Petterson that he needs to win the Division and/or a playoff game at a minimum to keep his job, and their track record back's up the threat that they need to "win now" or else, his *** is gone.

Those are the two extreme ends of the coaching spectrum IMO and it really comes down to the organizations, inheritance, resume, personality, front office, and so on. Very complex issue.

 

[steelhurt]

Good points Badcat! Tomlin most definitely inherited a great team all ready to go equipped with coordinators and coaches.
Ask yourselves this question and be honest about it.
Could you take Mike Tomlin, insert him as HC of say the Carolina Panthers which may be the worst team in the league, and could he build a SB winning team?
When he came here the table was set for him. Cowher had won his SB in 2005 and the team had a letdown in 2006 going 8-8. A lot of that had to do with Ben coming off a life threatening motorcycle accident.
The team had a SB hangover and I really think Cowher was burned out as coach.
The team was ready made for any HC to come in and pretty much let the coordinators run the offense and defense and the HC, especially one with zero experience could learn on the job.
That’s what happened here and Tomlin parlayed that into a long tenure here and as the veterans aged and departed and the coordinators left, Tomlin was left to rebuild. The rest is history.
Not much success at all in the playoffs and mediocre seasons began to stack up.
Bill Walsh once said that a HC should stay no longer than 10 seasons. After that the message doesn’t resonate any longer.
It’s long past due for a complete change in Pittsburgh otherwise expect more of the same.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

Good points Badcat! Tomlin most definitely inherited a great team all ready to go equipped with coordinators and coaches.
Ask yourselves this question and be honest about it.
Could you take Mike Tomlin, insert him as HC of say the Carolina Panthers which may be the worst team in the league, and could he build a SB winning team?
When he came here the table was set for him. Cowher had won his SB in 2005 and the team had a letdown in 2006 going 8-8. A lot of that had to do with Ben coming off a life threatening motorcycle accident.
The team had a SB hangover and I really think Cowher was burned out as coach.
The team was ready made for any HC to come in and pretty much let the coordinators run the offense and defense and the HC, especially one with zero experience could learn on the job.
That’s what happened here and Tomlin parlayed that into a long tenure here and as the veterans aged and departed and the coordinators left, Tomlin was left to rebuild. The rest is history.
Not much success at all in the playoffs and mediocre seasons began to stack up.
Bill Walsh once said that a HC should stay no longer than 10 seasons. After that the message doesn’t resonate any longer.
It’s long past due for a complete change in Pittsburgh otherwise expect more of the same.

More of the same 9-8 type seasons with 1st week blowout losses in playoffs? Can't wait for more of that. Does this include averaging a D that gives up 40+ points in the playoffs? Shades is such a great coach.

 

[CoolieMan]

Coaching changes are over rated. Our coach keeps us in the middle. New hire Demico Ryan's went straight to the top.

sure but he had Tank Dell

 

[Badcat]

More of the same 9-8 type seasons with 1st week blowout losses in playoffs? Can't wait for more of that. Does this include averaging a D that gives up 40+ points in the playoffs? Shades is such a great coach.

Shades is a good coach, not a great coach, not a bad coach, just a good one. You should give him some credit. Many of us want to see fresh blood in that coaching seat as we're tired of the same old average bullshit he throws out there. Some of the blame goes to the past GM bringing in projects instead of prospects.

 

[madinsomniac]

The sweet spot for coaches is tge third through 8th year... throw cheaty mccheaterpants out of the equation and really the only HCs to win after year ten are Cowher on that magical 05 run and Andy Reid, who is riding the mahomes dynasty...

One or two years isnt enough to build anything... after ten its too long in one place

 

[SteelerFan448]

1. The Steelers are overdue in the sense that this team has not had postseason success under Tomlin. There have been pockets of success in terms of position groups and good regular seasons, but the overall success of an organization is from the top down. With that said, Tomlin is still a good head coach who's biggest fault is not surrounding himself with a great staff.

2. Coaching changes are overrated in the sense that some coaches need time and a poor front office can ruin a good coach. When Nathaniel Hackett was a head coach, it was obvious that he was in over his head. As already mentioned, DeMeco Ryans was going to be a good coach and has proven that far. A good QB also helps the situation, but also isn't a guarantee as we've seen with Herbert in LA.

 

[slashsteel]

1. The Steelers are overdue in the sense that this team has not had postseason success under Tomlin. There have been pockets of success in terms of position groups and good regular seasons, but the overall success of an organization is from the top down. With that said, Tomlin is still a good head coach who's biggest fault is not surrounding himself with a great staff.

2. Coaching changes are overrated in the sense that some coaches need time and a poor front office can ruin a good coach. When Nathaniel Hackett was a head coach, it was obvious that he was in over his head. As already mentioned, DeMeco Ryans was going to be a good coach and has proven that far. A good QB also helps the situation, but also isn't a guarantee as we've seen with Herbert in LA.

I think the other Hairball is going to have that Chargers team playing significantly better.

 

[Drink IRON City]

...is only 3.2 years.
That tells me two things which are conflicting:

1. We are way overdue.
2. Coaching changes are overrated, in that hiring a new coach most often doesn't bring success.

Which way do you lean? I lean a little more towards 2.
I wouldn't be going out on a limb to guess most everyone leans towards 1, .......to the point of falling over LOL

(written prior to Belicheck retiring obviously)
Over the past decade, the average tenure of a newly hired NFL Head Coach lasts 3.2 years, and during this period only five Head Coaches in the NFL have kept their job for a 10-year period of time. All five men - Bill Belichick (71 years old) now in his 28th season, his 23rd with the Patriots, Andy Reid (65 years old) now in his 25th season, his 11th with the Chiefs, Pete Carroll (71 years old) now in his 17th season, his 13th with the Seahawks, Mike Tomlin (51 years old) now in his 16th season with the Steelers, and John Harbaugh (61 years old) now in his 15th season with the Ravens have won a Super Bowl with their Current Franchise.

Other long time NFL Head Coaches currently leading teams who have won Super Bowls with past teams are Mike McCarthy (60 years old) in his 16th season, his 4th year with the Cowboys, Sean Payton (59 years old) in his 17th season, his 1st with the Broncos, and Doug Pederson (55 years old) now in his 7th season, his 2nd with the Jaguars.

The turnover rate for NFL Head Coaches is about 25 percent each season. That's an average of 8 per year. If you removed the aforementioned coaches from the equation, the turnover rate would be even worse.

There were five New Head Coaches hired in 2023, Shane Steichen (Colts), Sean Payton (Broncos), DeMeco Ryans (Texans), Frank Reich (Panthers/Fired), and Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals). Only 10 of the league's 32 Head Coaches were hired before 2020. Since the AFC and NFC merger in 1970, there have been 32 one and done NFL Head Coaches that have been fired either during or after their first year on the job.

Hey Stewey nice find and posting it for us, thank you.!!!

Obviously the STEELERS are an anomaly in regards to the coaching time frame here.

Not a single professional team has only had 3 coaches in the last 55 years. That if amazing, but most here feel the Tomlin should have been gone 4-8 years ago.

We are drawing closer to the inevitable turn over in that if he doesn’t win a playoff game, he could very well be on the road to somewhere else.

Best case scenario would be to sign the extension, trade him after this season. Get two 1st, 2 3rds, 2 5ths.



Salute the nation

 

[Badcat]

Best case scenario would be to sign the extension, trade him after this season. Get two 1st, 2 3rds, 2 5ths.

...The Steelers keep playing down to poor opponents and barely making the playoffs, I might be up to downing 2 5ths at the end of the season.

 

[Drink IRON City]

...The Steelers keep playing down to poor opponents and barely making the playoffs, I might be up to downing 2 5ths at the end of the season.

I was saying BEST case scenario, I think media / some fans / FO have tendency to over value Mr. Tomlin’s coaching appeal.

I’d take a 1st and a 3rd.


Salute the nation

 

[SojournerSteel]

He was hired under a completely different paradigm in 2007 as a supposed defensive guy. The NFL has changed seismically since 2007 towards offense and we saw Tomlin fall way behind the rest of the NFL schematically on offense with the disastrous Canada hire and retention. Ben covered for for the lack of offensive acumen over the years with sandlot play and also AB's splash plays.

The Steelers have forged an identity over the past 3-4 years and we have heard Collinsworth rave about it incessantly: "The Pittsburgh Steelers are hard to kill! Mike Tomlin wants to shorten the games. Mike Tomlin wants to limit the possessions. Mike Tomlin wants to win the game in the 4th quarter."

We'll see if things change, but his philosophy is prehistoric by modern NFL standards. I still think that's the 18-16 game he wants to play every week if he can.

 

[alancac98]

Shades is a good coach, not a great coach, not a bad coach, just a good one. You should give him some credit. Many of us want to see fresh blood in that coaching seat as we're tired of the same old average bullshit he throws out there. Some of the blame goes to the past GM bringing in projects instead of prospects.

Shades is a good coach, not a great coach, not a bad coach, just a good one. You should give him some credit. Many of us want to see fresh blood in that coaching seat as we're tired of the same old average bullshit he throws out there. Some of the blame goes to the past GM bringing in projects instead of prospects.

Tomlin is a bad coach for two reasons: 1.) he is complacent (his coaching is and has been on cruise control), 2.) he hires lousy coaches under him! I honestly don't think he likes to be challenged by someone smarter at football than him, so he hires guys that wouldn't be hired on any other NFL team! Since Munchak left, name one coach (there may be a few who are assistants out there once they left Pittsburgh) that we have/had that would be hired elsewhere (except Arthur Smith). And don't say Flores - we all know what landed him here, and he was outta here on the next breeze that came through!

 

[SteelerSask2]

Tomlin was super successful when he had Lebeau and Arians and a plethora of good unit coaches. Since......his teams are mediocre or worse and he wastes three seasons on a guy who recruited his kid and had no business as an NFL coordinator. Anyone and I mean anyone would be fired for the Canada hire alone.

 

[Badcat]

Tomlin is a bad coach for two reasons: 1.) he is complacent (his coaching is and has been on cruise control), 2.) he hires lousy coaches under him! I honestly don't think he likes to be challenged by someone smarter at football than him, so he hires guys that wouldn't be hired on any other NFL team! Since Munchak left, name one coach (there may be a few who are assistants out there once they left Pittsburgh) that we have/had that would be hired elsewhere (except Arthur Smith). And don't say Flores - we all know what landed him here, and he was outta here on the next breeze that came through!

Complacent, how? Can you be a little more specific please?

Look, his lack of a coaching tree is brought up by Tomlin dissenters as much as his "never had a losing season" is brought up by his staunch supporters. Two Ends of the spectrum that is Mike Tomlin's kaleidoscope. In the middle though, therein lies the truth of the matter. Beyond the team playing down to competition, his poor challenge flag decisions, inability to control locker room distractions, failing to make in-game and halftime adjustments, his inability to develop game plans to exploit opposing systems and personnel because "We are who we are", and his loyalty to a fault with underperforming players who should be cut or traded...The man simply wins games and players want to play for him.

I'm old enough to remember the 1980's and how bad those Steeler's team were. My Dad and Uncle would scream at the fuzzy pictured tv screen, their faces red and spittle flying. There were games when they wouldn't even bother to watch it...I heard "What's the use". Hell, when I was in 5th grade our pee wee football team was a perfect 8-0 and our coach told us, "you guys would lick the Steelers" and we laughed.

Mike Tomlin is a good coach for the sheer fact that we all have something now that we didn't have in the 1980's...hope. For 17 seasons, every week there is a good chance they win the game.

 

[SteelerSask2]

Fair Badcat. I think most weeks they are competitive vs. Poor to middle teams. The last time I felt they were a truly championship level team they got embarrassed in Foxborough and before that they lost at home to the Jaguars. I think it's been long enough. If expectations are competitive.....I think that's all that really needs to be said.

 

[alancac98]

Complacent, how? Can you be a little more specific please?

Look, his lack of a coaching tree is brought up by Tomlin dissenters as much as his "never had a losing season" is brought up by his staunch supporters. Two Ends of the spectrum that is Mike Tomlin's kaleidoscope. In the middle though, therein lies the truth of the matter. Beyond the team playing down to competition, his poor challenge flag decisions, inability to control locker room distractions, failing to make in-game and halftime adjustments, his inability to develop game plans to exploit opposing systems and personnel because "We are who we are", and his loyalty to a fault with underperforming players who should be cut or traded...The man simply wins games and players want to play for him.

I'm old enough to remember the 1980's and how bad those Steeler's team were. My Dad and Uncle would scream at the fuzzy pictured tv screen, their faces red and spittle flying. There were games when they wouldn't even bother to watch it...I heard "What's the use". Hell, when I was in 5th grade our pee wee football team was a perfect 8-0 and our coach told us, "you guys would lick the Steelers" and we laughed.

Mike Tomlin is a good coach for the sheer fact that we all have something now that we didn't have in the 1980's...hope. For 17 seasons, every week there is a good chance they win the game.

Meriam dictionary defines complacent as "marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies". Everything you mentioned in your comment (and all that is often talked about here) are his deficiencies that he seems to be unaware of. So, I thought complacent was the perfect word. I do not in any way think Tomlin outworks other coaches. That is evident in everything we see -"the Steelers do what they do". He hasn't even tried to get better at anything he is not good at. I think he is more than happy with everything until his back is against the wall and NHALS is in jeopardy, then his *** begins to move! A phrase that is a synonym of complacent that I often use is "Fat and Happy". And yes, he wins games, but I would definitely argue that winning those games has very little to do with him and his outstanding coaching abilities. The team wins despite him much of the time and he was quite lucky early in the season last year. If you remember, they were completely outplayed throughout the game until we got some luck bounces going our way. Yes, the other team did not get those lucky bounces, but I judge coaching based on more than wins and loses. There are several guys on this site alone that could probably coach this team to the same record (I'm not one of them).

 

[Greg Lloyd]

He was hired under a completely different paradigm in 2007 as a supposed defensive guy. The NFL has changed seismically since 2007 towards offense and we saw Tomlin fall way behind the rest of the NFL schematically on offense with the disastrous Canada hire and retention. Ben covered for for the lack of offensive acumen over the years with sandlot play and also AB's splash plays.

The Steelers have forged an identity over the past 3-4 years and we have heard Collinsworth rave about it incessantly: "The Pittsburgh Steelers are hard to kill! Mike Tomlin wants to shorten the games. Mike Tomlin wants to limit the possessions. Mike Tomlin wants to win the game in the 4th quarter."

We'll see if things change, but his philosophy is prehistoric by modern NFL standards. I still think that's the 18-16 game he wants to play every week if he can.

Boom, shackalacka, boom, well said. You hit on all of it. Tomlin's philosophy is antiquated to the point of nearly useless come postseason. The "pee in your pants" offensive philosophy is garbage. The desire to win 10-9 is so played and outdated. Even Cowher, who many claimed played "turtle ball" had way more aggression towards ending a team. He didn't label "play for 60 minutes" out of nowhere. Tomlin's cliche should be "win by 1 point and it's beautiful football."

 

[topseed]

Meriam dictionary defines complacent as "marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies". Everything you mentioned in your comment (and all that is often talked about here) are his deficiencies that he seems to be unaware of. So, I thought complacent was the perfect word. I do not in any way think Tomlin outworks other coaches. That is evident in everything we see -"the Steelers do what they do"

That's what really bugs me about Tomlin. Yeah, that mantra worked for the Steelers in the 1970's, and other teams in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, but the NFL has changed, man. You have to be able to adapt to what your opponent is doing, and beat them strategically. That We do what we do ship sailed a long time ago.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

That's what really bugs me about Tomlin. Yeah, that mantra worked for the Steelers in the 1970's, and other teams in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, but the NFL has changed, man. You have to be able to adapt to what your opponent is doing, and beat them strategically. That We do what we do ship sailed a long time ago.

And it's all Tomlin has to offer: an antiquated philosophy that's so outdated you have almost no chance to win in the playoffs. Just sad.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

Meriam dictionary defines complacent as "marked by self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies". Everything you mentioned in your comment (and all that is often talked about here) are his deficiencies that he seems to be unaware of. So, I thought complacent was the perfect word. I do not in any way think Tomlin outworks other coaches. That is evident in everything we see -"the Steelers do what they do". He hasn't even tried to get better at anything he is not good at. I think he is more than happy with everything until his back is against the wall and NHALS is in jeopardy, then his *** begins to move! A phrase that is a synonym of complacent that I often use is "Fat and Happy". And yes, he wins games, but I would definitely argue that winning those games has very little to do with him and his outstanding coaching abilities. The team wins despite him much of the time and he was quite lucky early in the season last year. If you remember, they were completely outplayed throughout the game until we got some luck bounces going our way. Yes, the other team did not get those lucky bounces, but I judge coaching based on more than wins and loses. There are several guys on this site alone that could probably coach this team to the same record (I'm not one of them).

Another poster who sees the truth. Kudos.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Complacent, how? Can you be a little more specific please?

Look, his lack of a coaching tree is brought up by Tomlin dissenters as much as his "never had a losing season" is brought up by his staunch supporters. Two Ends of the spectrum that is Mike Tomlin's kaleidoscope. In the middle though, therein lies the truth of the matter. Beyond the team playing down to competition, his poor challenge flag decisions, inability to control locker room distractions, failing to make in-game and halftime adjustments, his inability to develop game plans to exploit opposing systems and personnel because "We are who we are", and his loyalty to a fault with underperforming players who should be cut or traded...The man simply wins games and players want to play for him.

I'm old enough to remember the 1980's and how bad those Steeler's team were. My Dad and Uncle would scream at the fuzzy pictured tv screen, their faces red and spittle flying. There were games when they wouldn't even bother to watch it...I heard "What's the use". Hell, when I was in 5th grade our pee wee football team was a perfect 8-0 and our coach told us, "you guys would lick the Steelers" and we laughed.

Mike Tomlin is a good coach for the sheer fact that we all have something now that we didn't have in the 1980's...hope. For 17 seasons, every week there is a good chance they win the game.

No offense Badcat and I hear what you are saying. I drive for more than non-losing seasons. Yes SIR, the wins are nice, but we need a little more than that.

We won some play off games in the 80s, currently not so much. Nothing in the last 7 years or 3 short of a decade. I’m not comparing todays team to the 80s, but we also had a Franchise QB at the helm for 1/2 the decade, not so much in the 80s.

Yes the Tomlin is slightly above average, because that’s what 9-8 / 10-7 / etc. are, slightly above average.



Salute the nation

 

[Badcat]

No offense Badcat and I hear what you are saying. I drive for more than non-losing seasons. Yes SIR, the wins are nice, but we need a little more than that.

We won some play off games in the 80s, currently not so much. Nothing in the last 7 years or 3 short of a decade. I’m not comparing todays team to the 80s, but we also had a Franchise QB at the helm for 1/2 the decade, not so much in the 80s.

Yes the Tomlin is slightly above average, because that’s what 9-8 / 10-7 / etc. are, slightly above average.



Salute the nation

I believe we all strive for more than non-losing seasons and being one and done in the playoffs, if we're lucky to even make the playoffs. I'm just making the point that Tomlin is a good coach and not some cancerous piece of **** that some posters are making him out to be.