While he might be pushing four decades, Houston Texans second-year coach DeMeco Ryans is considered a young gun in the NFL.
The 40-year-old former Pro Bowl linebacker has blossomed into a rising star among the coaching ranks. Last season as the first-year man in command with the team that drafted him in 2006, Ryans led the Texans to a 10-7 finish and playoff berth.
Houston, which currently boasts an 8-5 record, is expected to return to the playoffs in 2024 as the AFC South champions. The Texans have a two-game lead over the Indianapolis Colts heading into the bye week and could clinch the division title by Christmas.
Should the Texans hoist up their first Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans this year, Ryans wouldn’t be the youngest coach to claim the title. Mike Tomlin (36 at the time) held the record as the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl until Sean McVay (20 days younger) later claimed that crown with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021.
McVay, now 38, is still the fourth-youngest coach and two years younger than Ryans with seven years of head coaching experience.
Bruce Arians was the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl (68), but George Halas (204 days older) was the oldest coach to ever win an NFL title (Halas coached in the pre-Super Bowl era).
While age doesn’t matter to success, Andy Reid (66) has claimed three titles during his tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs, including back-to-back Super Bowls in 2022 and 2023. The longtime play-caller would need to coach at least three more seasons to have a chance of becoming the oldest coach to win a Super Bowl.
View the full list of all 32 NFL head coaches below, ranked by age.
- Andy Reid (66) Chiefs
- John Harbaugh (62) Ravens
- Mike McCarthy (61) Cowboys
- Todd Bowles (61) Buccaneers
- Jim Harbaugh (60) Chargers
- Sean Payton (60) Broncos
- Doug Pederson (56) Jaguars
- Darren Rizzi (54) Saints [interim]
- Dan Quinn (54) Commanders
- Mike Tomlin (52) Steelers
- Sean McDermott (50) Bills
- Brian Daboll (49) Giants
- Dan Campbell (48) Lions
- Raheem Morris (48) Falcons
- Jeff Ulbrich (47) Jets [interim]
- Antonio Pierce (46) Raiders
- Matt LaFleur (45) Packers
- Kyle Shanahan (44) 49ers
- Dave Canales (43) Panthers
- Nick Sirianni (43) Eagles
- Kevin Stefanski (42) Browns
- Jonathan Gannon (41) Cardinals
- Mike McDaniel (41) Dolphins
- Zac Taylor (41) Bengals
- Brian Callahan (40) Titans
- DeMeco Ryans (40) Texans
- Shane Steichen (39) Colts
- Kevin O’Connell (39) Vikings
- Sean McVay (38) Rams
- Jerod Mayo (38) Patriots
- Thomas Brown (38) Bears [interim]
- Mike Macdonald (37) Seahawks
Ryans (.586) has the 11th-best career winning percentage among active coaches.
