NFL head coaching jobs are a hard gig to hang on to for an extended stretch.
Heading into the 2024 season, seven teams across the league will have a new head coach leading their campaign, with one interim head coach from last year holding on to his job as well. Meanwhile, just eight coaches in the NFL signed their paperwork with their current team before 2020.
That said, for a few select coaches, there is such a thing as job security in the NFL. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has currently been at the helm of his team longer than any active NFL head coach, having started his career in Pittsburgh back in 2007, and he just signed an extension that will keep him with the Steelers through 2027.
Below is a list of the longest-tenured active coaches in the NFL.
| Coach | Team | Starting Year | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Tomlin | Pittsburgh Steelers | 2007 | .663 |
| John Harbaugh | Baltimore Ravens | 2008 | .618 |
| Andy Reid | Kansas City Chiefs | 2013 | .715 |
| Sean McDermott | Buffalo Bills | 2017 | .640 |
| Sean McVay | Los Angeles Rams | 2017 | .609 |
| Kyle Shanahan | San Francisco 49ers | 2017 | .557 |
| Zac Taylor | Cincinnati Bengals | 2019 | .457 |
| Matt LaFleur | Green Bay Packers | 2019 | .675 |
| Kevin Stefanski | Cleveland Browns | 2020 | .552 |
| Mike McCarthy | Dallas Cowboys | 2020 | .627 |
Unsurprisingly, success is the greatest resource a coach can have when looking for job security.
Four of the five longest-tenured head coaches in the league have won a Super Bowl with their team, including all three head coaches who have been with their team for at least a decade.
Meanwhile, the rest of the list is filled with coaches who have put their teams on the cusp of greatness, either in the conference championship or close to it.
While the top of the list looks likely to remain stable for at least a few more years barring a surprise retirement from someone, the bottom of the top 10 could be in for a shake-up in the coming season, with Mike McCarthy on the final year of his deal in Dallas and looking to make an impression.