Among the 10 oldest active coaches in college football, two are over 70, and seven of them are working for power 5 conference programs. All of the coaches in the group are 61 or older at the time of this post being written.
Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati: 61
Born on September 18, 1954, Tuberville will turn 62 in just over two weeks. The former Southern Arkansas Safety has been the head coach of Cincinnati since 2013, leading them to one conference title and a 26-14 record so far. He has also coached at Texas Tech, Auburn (one SEC title & undefeated season in 2004) and Ole Miss.
David Cutcliffe, Duke: 61
Born two days before Tuberville, Cutcliffe also has a history at Oxford, head coaching Ole Miss from 1998 to 2004, even posting a 10-win season with them in 2003. He’s been at Duke since 2008, doing the unbelievable with them, which means winning seasons and making bowl games, and even once playing for the conference title. Duke are 48-53 in his tenure, making a bowl game the last four years.
Ron Turner, FIU: 62
Turner was born on December 5, 1953. FIU is his third head coaching job in college football, previously working at San Jose State (one season) and Illinois (1997-2004, one Big Ten title). He’s been the head coach of FIU since 2013, so far improving in each season, finishing 5-7 last year.
Les Miles, LSU: 62
The Mad Hatter was born on November 10, 1953, and was an offensive lineman at Michigan during his student years. His first head coaching stint was in 2001, going 28-21 with Oklahoma State through 2004. In 2005 he became the head coach of LSU, and has since complied a 112-32 record, winning the national title in 2007, and winning the SEC twice. LSU have five top 10 finishes under Miles, the last in 2011.
Mike Riley, Nebraska: 63
Born July 6, 1953, Riley is entering his second season as the head coach of Nebraska, going 6-7 in his first year at Lincoln, filled with close losses and a bowl game win. He previously worked at Oregon State, coaching there for 14 seasons including in 1997 and 1998 before going to the NFL. He returned to Corvallis in 2003 and posted a 93-80 record with the Beavers, which included one 10-win season and four top 25 finishes.
Jim Grobe, Baylor: 64
Born on February 17, 1952, Grobe was hired by Baylor following the termination of Art Briles in May. Grobe will make his return to college football after being away from the game for the last two years. He was the head coach at Wake Forest from 2001 to 2013, which included their 11-win season, winning the ACC and going to the Orange Bowl. He was 77-82 with the Demon Deacons, but his last five years there were losing seasons. Before Wake, he coached at Ohio from 1995 to 200.
Nick Saban, Alabama: 64
Saban is a five time national champion as a head coach. Once with LSU in 2003, and four times with Alabama, the last one in 2015, his and the Tide’s first in the CFP era. Saban has been the head coach at Alabama since 2007, posting a 100-18 record, winning the SEC four times. Before Alabama, he had two years with the Miami Dolphins, a five-year tenure at LSU (48-16), five years at Michigan State and one season as the head coach of Toledo. He was born on October 31, 1951.
Rocky Long, San Diego State: 66
Long, born on January 27, 1950, has been the head coach at San Diego State since 2011, leading the Aztecs to a bowl game each season, a 43-23 record and two MWC titles. Previously he was the head coach at New Mexico (1998-2008), posting a 65-69 record, including appearing in five bowl games.
Frank Solich, Ohio: 71
Born on September 8, 1944, Solich was a fullback at Nebraska during the mid 1960’s. He coached Nebraska after Tom Osborne, from 1998 to 2003, posting a 58-19 record, winning the Big 12 once and finishing ranked 2 that season (1999), and also took an 11-win Nebraska to the Rose Bowl in 2001, losing to Miami in the BCS championship game. Solich was fired and took a year off, before taking the Ohio job in 2005. He’s gone 80-61 with the Bobcats, not finishing with a losing record since 2008.
Bill Snyder, Kansas State: 76
Barry Switzer once said of Bill Snyder “He’s not the coach of the year, he’s not the coach of the decade, he’s the coach of the century.” Maybe it’s true, maybe it isn’t. He certainly is the greatest at Kansas State. Born on October 7, 1939, the soon to be 77-year old coached the Wildcats from 1989 to 2005 and returned in 2009, so far completing 24 seasons in Manhattan. He has a 193-101-1 record with the Wildcats, winning the Big 12 twice, getting a top 25 finish 13 times, and having just one losing season since returning to the sidelines (6-7, 2015).