Oldest college football coaches: Where UNC’s Bill Belichick ranks

Bill Belichick is coming to college football.

According to multiple reports, North Carolina and Belichick are finalizing a deal for the former New England Patriots coach and general manager to become the Tar Heels’ next coach, landing them arguably the biggest hire of the offseason.

Belichick will replace Mack Brown, who was fired on Nov. 26 after six years into his second tenure with the Tar Heels.

The hiring of Belichick is an interesting one on several levels, perhaps most notably because the legendary NFL coach hasn’t coached at the collegiate level.

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The other is his age.

Brown, who was fired after three-plus decades of being a head coach across Appalachian State, Tulane, Texas and two stints at North Carolina, is 73 years old. But the coach coming in to replace him isn’t much younger. Indeed, at 72 years old, Belichick replaces Brown as the oldest active coach in college football.

Belichick brings an impressive head coach resume to North Carolina, including 333 career wins and six Super Bowl wins. Now he will be tasked with rebuilding the Tar Heels program, which had flashes of success under Brown but hasn’t won a bowl game since 2019, hasn’t had double-digit wins since 2015 and hasn’t won the ACC since 1980 — eight years before Brown’s first stint in Chapel Hill.

Here’s what you need to know about Belichick’s age and where he now ranks among the oldest active college football coaches in the FBS:

How old is Bill Belichick?

Bill Belichick is 72 years old. He was born on April 16, 1952 in Nashville, Tennessee. He is just under eight months younger than Brown.

Oldest college football coaches

With North Carolina’s hiring of the six-time Super Bowl coach, Belichick now becomes the oldest coach in college football, at 72 years old.

Behind Belichick is Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, who is three years younger than him at 69 years old. Ferentz is currently in his 26th season coaching the Hawkeyes, a position that he has held since 1999.

Here’s an updated full list of the oldest active college football coaches:

Ages listed as of day of reported hiring on Wednesday, Dec. 11