Steelers, Chiefs, Ravens Have Most Coach-Coordinator Stability in NFL

Coaching stability is something of a rarity in the NFL.

It’s called the coaching carousel for a reason, because every offseason coaches are fired and hired in a league known for its high turnover rate.

With Bill Belichick out as coach of the New England Patriots and Pete Carroll moving to an advisory role with the Seattle Seahawks, only three head coaches have been in their current posts for at least a decade: Mike Tomlin (17 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers), John Harbaugh (16 seasons, Baltimore Ravens) and Andy Reid (11 years, Kansas City Chiefs).

Coordinator positions are even more volatile than head coaching jobs. The two longest-tenured coordinators in the NFL are Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who have been with their teams for five seasons each.

No current offensive coordinator has been in his position for longer than two seasons since former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan took the Tennessee Titans’ top job after five years calling plays in Cincinnati. Only six offensive coordinators have been in their jobs for two years, whereas 14 are either first-time coordinators or starting in that role with a new team.

Six teams are starting fresh for 2024 with a new head coach and offensive and defensive coordinators. As it turns out, stability correlates to consistent success in many cases.

To wit, the teams listed below boast the most combined seasons of experience in their current positions among their head coach and coordinators.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 19 seasons

Head coach Mike Tomlin: 17 seasons
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith: 0 seasons
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin: 2 seasons

Tomlin, the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach, has famously never endured a losing season. Pittsburgh hasn’t reached the AFC championship game since 2016, but Tomlin has steered some undermanned teams to the playoffs in recent years, including in 2023. Smith, who was fired in January after three seasons as the Falcons head coach, is back in the role of offensive coordinator, a position he previously held with the Titans. Austin, who has been on the Steelers staff since 2019, was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2021.

Kansas City Chiefs: 17 seasons

Head coach Andy Reid: 11 seasons
Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy: 1 season
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo: 5 seasons

Kansas City is an NFL-best 128–51 since 2013, when Reid became coach. Reid, 66, is the oldest active coach in the NFL, but he and the Chiefs have shown no signs of slowing down as they attempt to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Nagy, who has spent a huge chunk of his career as Kansas City’s quarterbacks coach, was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023. Spagnuolo joined the Chiefs in 2019 ahead of the first Super Bowl run of the Patrick Mahomes era.

Baltimore Ravens: 17 seasons

Head coach John Harbaugh: 16 seasons
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken: 1 season
Defensive coordinator Zach Orr: 0 seasons

Harbaugh ranks second only to Tomlin in coaching tenure, and he just led Baltimore to its first conference title game since 2012, the season in which the Ravens last won the Super Bowl. Harbaugh has now lost coordinators in consecutive years as Monken replaced Greg Roman in 2023 after the former offensive coordinator stepped down, and Orr replaced Mike Macdonald, who took the Seahawks head coach job in January.

Cincinnati Bengals: 10 seasons

Head coach Zac Taylor: 5 seasons
Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher: 0 seasons
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo: 5 seasons

Continuity is a trend in the AFC North, where three of the four teams are among the league leaders in coaching stability. When Taylor took over in 2019, Cincinnati finished with the worst record in the NFL. Two seasons later, the Bengals were in the Super Bowl. Pitcher has been with the team since 2016 and spent the last four years as the quarterbacks coach. He’s replacing Callahan, who was with Taylor for his entire Cincinnati tenure until he took the Titans job. Anarumo also has worked with Taylor since 2019.

Los Angeles Rams: 8 seasons

Head coach Sean McVay: 7 seasons
Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur: 1 season
Defensive coordinator Chris Shula: 0 seasons

Even after seven seasons leading Los Angeles, McVay is still one of the youngest coaches in the game. He’s already made two Super Bowl appearances, winning one in the 2021 season, and he’s widely regarded as one of the NFL’s premier offensive innovators. McVay has seen several of his coordinators move on to head coaching jobs in recent years, though LaFleur is back as offensive coordinator for a second consecutive season. Shula has been with the Rams since McVay took over in 2017, and he was promoted to defensive coordinator in January after Raheem Morris left to coach the Falcons.

Detroit Lions: 8 seasons

Head coach Dan Campbell: 3 seasons
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson: 2 seasons
Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn: 3 seasons

Campbell has transformed Detroit from a bottom dweller into a Super Bowl contender in three years. Crucially, Campbell retained his two coordinators this offseason, both of whom were head coaching candidates in the most recent cycle. Johnson, who has been with the Lions since 2019, has called a top-10 offense in each of the past two seasons. Glenn’s defenses have improved each year in Detroit, culminating in last season’s run to the NFC championship game.

Buffalo Bills: 8 seasons

Head coach Sean McDermott: 7 seasons
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady: 1 season*
Defensive coordinator Bobby Babich: 0 seasons

* Brady was Buffalo’s OC for the final five games of the 2023 season.

McDermott is tied with McVay and the 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan for the third-longest tenure among the league’s current head coaches. Under his watch, Buffalo missed the playoffs just once and won four straight division titles. The Bills made a midseason change at offensive coordinator to Brady last season after firing offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in November. They closed the season 6–1 with Brady calling plays. Buffalo promoted Bavich, who has been with the team since 2017, to defensive coordinator, a role McDermott held last season in addition to his coaching duties.

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