Chiefs’ Andy Reid is now third on list of longest-tenured coaches in U.S. sports
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh are out; Andy Reid became longest-tenured NFL coach.
- Reid ranks third among coaches across top U.S. leagues by hire date.
- Top tenure list: Spoelstra 2008; Reeve 2009; Reid 2013; Cooper, Kerr, Cash follow.
From 1964 to 1968, the Pittsburgh Steelers had three head coaches. Since 1969, they’ve also had just three head coaches.
But they soon will be adding a fourth.
Mike Tomlin stepped down as coach Tuesday after 19 seasons as Steelers head coach. Tomlin had replaced Bill Cowher in January 2007, a few months before the iPhone was released in the United States.
Cowher had been the Chiefs defensive coordinator when he was hired as the Steelers coach ahead of the 1992 season. He replaced Chuck Noll, who won four Super Bowls after taking over as Steelers coach in 1969.
Tomlin’s departure comes just days after the Ravens fired coach John Harbaugh, who had been in Baltimore since Jan. 19, 2008.
Harbaugh and Tomlin had been the two longest-tenured NFL coaches heading into this season and Chiefs coach Andy Reid had been No. 3.
Reid is now the longest-tenured NFL coach, and he’s No. 3 among the top seven professional sports leagues in the United States (NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, WNBA, NHL and NWSL).
Here are the top six longest-tenured coaches in U.S. sports and the date they were hired.
April 28, 2008: Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Dec. 8, 2009: Cheryl Reeve, Minnesota Lynx
Jan. 4, 2013: Andy Reid, Chiefs
March 25, 2013: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
May 19, 2014: Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
Dec. 5, 2014: Kevin Cash, Tampa Bay Rays
This story was originally published January 14, 2026 at 9:04 AM.
