NFL Hiring Cycle Leaving Older, More Accomplished Names Such As Carroll, Belichick Behind
Football, like practically all sports, is for the young. We know and accept this for athletes, but the past few weeks has shown us the NFL believes it is for young coaches over older and often more accomplished veterans.
Because the old guys are curiously not in demand so far this current hiring cycle.
Older coaching candidates are lagging well behind their younger counterparts even when they have Super Bowl rings and the young guys have, well, very little history of success.
I present to you Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll as exhibits A and B. These two veterans are, without question, the most accomplished and successful available coaches in the current hiring cycle.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 18: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks looks on during the first half of the preseason game against the Chicago Bears at Lumen Field on August 18, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images)
Carroll Two Super Bowls, No Job Interviews This Cycle
But, here we are two weeks after his final day on the job with the New England Patriots, and the 71-year-old Belichick has spoken to one team.
One.
Carroll, at age 72, has been completely sidelined since being fired by the Seattle Seahawks. No team has so far shown any interest in speaking to him about continuing his coaching career despite the fact he said he "competed" to keep his job in Seattle.
Carroll, in what increasingly is looking like his farewell press conference, left the door open for any team that might want to speak with him. But he seemed to realize there are factors (read age) that might keep teams from knocking on that door.
“I’ve got plenty of energy for it and thought and willingness, but can’t imagine there’s a place, the right one," Carroll said. "I don’t know. I’m open to everything, but I’m not holding my breath on that.
"There’s a lot of world out here that I’m excited about challenging and going after. So if that happens, it happens. We’ll see. I really don’t know what to tell you about that yet."
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots gives a thumbs up on the field prior to Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Bill Belichick Has Interviewed With One Team
The lukewarm (at best) interest in these two men with a combined seven Super Bowl rings is obvious in that they've combined for two interviews. Both of those have been by Belichick with Atlanta.
This while young coaches are juggling interest and interviews all over the place. And doing so despite much less impressive and perhaps even questionable qualifications.
Brian Johnson, 36, got an interview with the Atlanta Falcons for their head coach job same as Belichick. This happened days before he was fired for underperforming as the Eagles offensive coordinator during his one season on the job.
Ejiro Evero, 43, got an interview with the Falcons, too. The Falcons gave him that interview despite the fact he's likely out as the Panthers defensive coordinator because they're looking for a new head coach and the new guy will bring in his own staff.
Former Chargers coach Brandon Staley talks to former Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Evero Has More Interviews Than Belichick And Carroll
But that's not the nuttiest part. Evero served one year as the defensive coordinator for the Panthers after one year as the defensive coordinator for the Broncos and still has gotten more interviews than either Belichick or Carroll. That's because the Panthers also interviewed him twice for their head coach opening.
So a couple of one-and-done seasons as a coordinator got Evero more attention than Belichick and Carroll combined.
Joe Brady, 34, got a head coach interview from the Falcons, too. Brady's credentials are that he was very good at LSU as an offensive assistant when Joe Burrow was there, and he's been the offensive coordinator for two seasons in Carolina and was the interim coordinator in Buffalo the later half of this season.
And, sure, Brady is a rising talent. He's smart. He's hard-working.
But in a one-game playoff against either Belichick or Carroll, with your life hanging the balance, who you picking to coach your team?
ATLANTA, GA OCTOBER 08: Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) talks with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik during the NFL game between the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons on October 8th, 2023 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Slowik Gets More Interest Than Belichick Or Carroll
Bobby Slowik, 36, got an interview with the Falcons and Commanders. In fact, he's reportedly scheduled for a second interview with both clubs. And not to diminish what Slowik did as the Houston Texans offensive coordinator in 2023. It was outstanding.
But that was his first year as an NFL offensive coordinator. One year.
And that makes him a hotter head coach candidate than either Belichick or Carroll?
Tell me, how is Bobby Slowik more attractive to new Commanders general manager Adam Peters than Belichick?
Peters, 44, got his start in the NFL in 2003. You know where?
The New England Patriots.
He worked for the Patriots through two Super Bowl championships that Belichick helped author. Peters then went to Denver for three seasons because Josh McDaniels, a Belichick disciple, hired him there.
But Peters has so far been more interested in Slowik. And the Commanders have so far been more interested in multiple other younger, less experienced and less accomplished candidates than Belichick.
Donovan McNabb Addresses Ageism
This isn't a coincidence, folks. This is a trend.
This is multiple NFL owners, general managers, presidents -- many of them in the 60s, and 70s -- preferring to interview and likely hire men in their 30s and 40s.
And it isn't a stretch to think this is ageism.
"I don't want to sound bad in a sense, but I think are moving on from the dinosaurs and now starting to come with the babies because they have more time and they can develop their young, talented guys and they'll be around more," said former NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb on OutKick's 5 Spot podcast.
"Is it ageism? Yeah, in a sense it is. Is it something for us as viewers or former players to see and say, 'That's not fair?' Yeah, we can say that. But you kind of understand the direction some of these organizations are going ..."
Youngsters Squeezing Out Belichick And Carroll
The direction some organizations with openings are going -- and the Raiders and Titans have already gone in hiring young men as their new coach -- is perhaps they want someone with a future on the horizon instead of a history in the rear view mirror.
But even this is in some ways nonsensical.
Consider that most coaches landing head jobs sign five- or six-year deals. There are no 10-year NFL coach contracts anymore because they're a fantasy. Jon Gruden signed a 10-year contract with the Raiders in 2020 and didn't finish the 2021 season with the team.
These 36-, 37- 38-year-old coaches coming with great five-year plans for developing young teams might be out in two or three seasons if they don't win pretty quickly.
Adam Gase was the NFL's youngest coach when he was hired by the Dolphins in 2016. He was fired after the 2018 season. Joe Judge was 39 years old when he was hired by the Giants in 2020. He was fired after the 2021 season. The Chargers hired Brandon Staley at age 39 in 2021 and fired him five days after his 41st birthday in 2023.
Eric Mangini, Raheem Morris, McDaniels were all hired in their 30s. And they were all fired in three years or less.
So it is a better gamble to hire an unproven 36-year-old who's never been a head coach and hope he develops into something? Or going with a Super Bowl winning coach, even one in his early 70s, knowing he's experience kicks in on Day 1 and continues until he retires maybe three years later?
The NFL answer so far hasn't been kind to the latter option.