In the span of a week, the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh, and Mike Tomlin stepped down from his post with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tomlin led the Steelers to a Super Bowl win and another appearance during a 19-season run. Harbaugh also delivered a ring over the course of his 18-season stay with the Ravens.
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They were AFC North staples.
And they were the NFL's two longest-tenured head coaches.
Now that title belongs to Andy Reid, who has been at the helm of the Kansas City Chiefs for 13 seasons. With that in mind, here's a rundown of the league's active head coaches who have held their roles the longest:
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs: 13 seasons (since 2013)
Before Reid oversaw the NFL's latest dynasty, he coached the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 seasons from 1999-2012. He's been a head coach for 27 seasons. During the 2021 campaign, he became the first NFL head coach to win 100 games (including playoffs) for two franchises, and he fittingly accomplished that feat with a win at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of his former team. Reid eventually also became the the first head coach in league history to lead two franchises in regular-season wins. He won 130 regular-season games with the Eagles, and he's gone 149-64 with the Chiefs. Along with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, Reid's guided the Chiefs to three Super Bowl victories.
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T-2. Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams: 9 seasons (since 2017)
When the Los Angeles Rams hired McVay ahead of the 2017 season, he emerged as the youngest head coach in NFL history. At just 30 years old, he changed the way the coaching carousel spun. An innovative yet calculated offensive mind, McVay immediately ended the franchise's 12-season playoff drought. As a first-year head coach, he led the Rams to an NFC West title. In Year 2, he took them to the Super Bowl. Three seasons after that, L.A. was back in the big game, and the Rams won it all. McVay's responsible for eight winning records in nine seasons and seven playoff appearances. With a divisional-round win over the Chicago Bears this week, McVay would have 10 postseason victories before the age of 40.
T-2. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers: 9 seasons (since 2017)
Kyle Shanahan went from coordinating offenses in Houston, Washington, Cleveland and Atlanta to earning the head job in San Francisco, where he's taken the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowls. The Niners have lost both to the Chiefs in agonizing fashion, first surrendering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead to Kansas City during the 2019 season and then losing in overtime during the 2023 season. Still, Shanahan's two NFC championships and quarterback-friendly system are commendable. He's a Coach of the Year candidate this season for piloting a 12-win team through a forest of injuries.
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T-2. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills: 9 seasons (since 2017)
Under McDermott, the Bills have rattled off seven consecutive double-digit-win seasons. Before that stretch began during the 2019 campaign, Buffalo hadn't won at least 10 games since the 1999 season. McDermott came over from the Carolina Panthers, for whom he served as defensive coordinator from 2011-16, and he's been the Bills' leading man through the Josh Allen era. Allen has won a league MVP, and Buffalo has reached the AFC championship twice, however, it's still searching for that elusive Super Bowl victory that heartbreakingly escaped the franchise in the early '90s.
T-5. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals: 7 seasons (since 2019)
The Cincinnati Bengals are sticking with Taylor after missing the playoffs for the third season in a row. This season was derailed by the latest setback to franchise quarterback Joe Burrow, who missed nine games with a turf toe injury that required surgery. That said, with Burrow under center and Taylor on the headset, the Bengals have made two AFC championships, winning one during the 2021 season before falling short to the Rams in the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since the 1988 season. Taylor, previously a McVay assistant in L.A., has posted a 52-63-1 regular-season record and a 5-2 mark in the postseason. He's the third-longest tenured head coach in Bengals history, behind Sam Wyche (127 games) and Marvin Lewis (256 games).
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T-5. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers: 7 seasons (since 2019)
After the Green Bay Packers let another late-game lead slip to the Bears, this time bowing out of the playoffs in the process, LaFleur's job status has been questioned. But, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Packers are trying to keep LaFleur around, despite the team's five straight losses to end the season. LaFleur has logged a 76-40-1 regular-season record in Green Bay since taking over the reins from Mike McCarthy. That run started with three consecutive 13-win seasons. The problem is, the Packers are only 3-6 in the playoffs under his watch. They've yet to win more than one postseason game in a season during his tenure.

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