%20%20--%3E%0A%3Csvg%20version%3D%221.1%22%20id%3D%22Layer_1%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20xmlns%3Axlink%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F1999%2Fxlink%22%20x%3D%220px%22%20y%3D%220px%22%0A%09%20width%3D%2239px%22%20height%3D%2240px%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%2039%2040%22%20enable-background%3D%22new%200%200%2039%2040%22%20xml%3Aspace%3D%22preserve%22%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M38.5%2C7H28.2v26h10.3V7z%22%2F%3E%0A%3Cpath%20fill-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20clip-rule%3D%22evenodd%22%20fill%3D%22%23FFFFFF%22%20d%3D%22M26.1%2C25.5c0%2C5.8-4.1%2C7.5-12.9%2C7.5C3.9%2C33%2C0%2C31.2%2C0%2C25.2v-1.1h11.6%0A%09v2.4c0%2C0.7%2C0.1%2C1.4%2C1.2%2C1.4c1%2C0%2C1.2-0.4%2C1.2-1.3v-0.9c0-1.6-0.9-1.6-3.5-2.2C2.2%2C21.7%2C0%2C19.7%2C0%2C15.3v-0.9C0%2C9.3%2C5.5%2C7%2C12.9%2C7%0A%09c10.2%2C0%2C12.8%2C2.6%2C12.8%2C7.4v1.8h-11v-2.9c0-0.6-0.4-1.1-1.2-1.1c-0.6%2C0-1.2%2C0.4-1.2%2C1.1v0.9c0%2C1.5%2C0.9%2C2%2C3.3%2C2.5%0A%09c8%2C1.6%2C10.5%2C3.3%2C10.5%2C7.5V25.5z%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E%0A)
Sean Payton Took Funny Age-Related Jab at Pete Carroll About Joining AFC West
The NFL division with the oldest coaches in 2025 is the AFC West—by far.
Pete Carroll just took a job as the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach, making him the oldest active NFL coach at age 73. He will be 74 in September. Elsewhere in the division, the Kansas City Chiefs employ the second-oldest coach in the NFL in Andy Reid (age 66), while the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos are led by a pair of 61-year-old coaches in Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton.
Payton had some fun with the old age talk while speaking to media at the NFL scouting combine on Tuesday. He appreciated Carroll taking over the Raiders to make him not look as old compared to the rest of the AFC West coaches.
"I’m the youngest. Thanks Pete," Payton said while laughing.
Sean Payton on Pete Carroll being with the Raiders and the coaches in the AFC West: “I’m the youngest. Thanks Pete” pic.twitter.com/p0Jr8S4793
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) February 25, 2025
All four of the AFC West coaches are also in the second big acts of their NFL coaching careers. Carroll previously coached the Seattle Seahawks for 14 seasons, and Reid coached the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 years; Harbaugh led the San Francisco 49ers for four years before returning to the collegiate level at Michigan and Payton coached the New Orleans Saints for 15 seasons.
Carroll, Reid and Payton all have Super Bowl titles as well. Talk about a stacked division of coaches.
More of the Latest Around the NFL
Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.