Super Bowl LVI saw the two youngest head coaches in the 2021-22 NFL season facing off. Let’s take a look at the list of the youngest NFL head coaches as it stands, as well as the youngest head coaches to have been hired in NFL history.
Youngest Head Coaches in the NFL
The NFL head coach circuit has certainly been getting younger and younger. Here is the list of the youngest head coaches in the league right now, with their listed dates of birth and age as of February 01, 2023.
- Sean McVay | 01/24/86 (37)
Los Angeles Rams - Kevin O’Connell | 05/25/85 (37)
Minnesota Vikings - Shane Steichen | 05/11/85 (37)
Indianapolis Colts - DeMeco Ryans | 07/28/84 (38)
Houston Texans - Mike McDaniel | 03/06/83 (39)
Miami Dolphins - Zac Taylor | 05/10/83 (40)
Cincinnati Bengals - Brandon Staley | 12/10/82 (40)
Los Angeles Chargers - Arthur Smith | 05/27/82 (40)
Atlanta Falcons - Kevin Stefanski | 05/08/82 (40)
Cleveland Browns - Nick Sirianni | 06/15/81 (42)
Philadelphia Eagles - Kyle Shanahan | 12/14/79 (43)
San Francisco 49ers
Who Are the Youngest Head Coaches Hired by NFL Teams?
McVay is currently the youngest NFL head coach, but he is also the youngest in NFL history to have been hired. McVay was just 30 years and 11 months old when the Rams hired him as head coach. He was almost a year younger than Lane Kiffin was when the Raiders hired him in 2007.
When Kiffin became the youngest head coach to be hired at the time in 2007, it ended a 45-year record. For those years, the youngest head coach was Harland Svare of the Los Angeles Rams in 1962.
Svare was 31 years and 11 months old when the Rams hired him. The presence of both Svare and McVay on this list means that the Rams have hired two of the youngest three head coaches in league history.
10 Youngest Head Coaches in League History
Listed below are the 10 youngest head coaches in league history. Also listed is their year/age at the time they were hired and the team who hired them.
- Sean McVay | 30 years, 11 months
Los Angeles Rams – 2017 - Zac Taylor | 31 years, 8 months
Las Vegas Raiders – 2007 - Harland Svare | 31 years, 11 months
Los Angeles Rams – 1962 - John Michelosen | 32 years, 2 months
Pittsburgh Steelers – 1948 - Raheem Morris | 32 years, 4 months
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 2009 - David Shula | 32 years, 7 months
Cincinnati Bengals – 1992 - Josh McDaniels | 32 years, 8 months
Denver Broncos – 2009 - Don Shula | 33 years, 4 days
Baltimore Colts – 1963 - Al Davis | 33 years, 6 months
Oakland Raiders – 1963 - Joe Collier | 33 years, 7 months
Arizona Cardinals – 1966