College football is a sport that runs on haves and have-nots. Inequality is baked into the system. That’s why there’s always such a robust market for the coaching carousel and general college football hot seat discussion.
Because of this, it’s rare to find a coach that stays with one program for 15 or 20 years; in fact, it’s increasingly difficult to find coaches who last more than a mere five years at one job.
Here’s a list of the longest-tenured college football coaches at the FBS level.
Longest-Tenured College Football Coaches
| First Season | Head Coach | School | W/L Record At School (Win Percentage) |
| 1999 | Kirk Ferentz | Iowa | 186-115 (.618) |
| 2005 | Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State | 156-75 (.675) |
| 2005 | Kyle Whittingham | Utah | 154-74 (.675) |
| 2006 | Rick Stockstill | Middle Tennessee | 109-103 (.514) |
| 2007 | Troy Calhoun | Air Force | 121-78 (.608) |
| 2007 | Nick Saban | Alabama | 187-27 (.874) |
| 2009 | Dabo Swinney | Clemson | 143-38 (.790) |
| 2013 | Dave Doeren | NC State | 72-54 (.571) |
| 2013 | Mark Stoops | Kentucky | 66-59 (.528) |
| 2014 | Dave Clawson | Wake Forest | 59-53 (.527) |
| 2014 | James Franklin | Penn State | 78-36 (.684) |
| 2014 | K.C. Keeler | Sam Houston | 85-27 (.759) |
| 2014 | Jeff Monken | Army | 64-49 (.566) |
| 2014 | Chris Creighton | Eastern Michigan | 46-61 (.430) |
| 2014 | Chuck Martin | Miami (OH) | 45-59 (.433) |
| 2014 | Craig Bohl | Wyoming | 52-56 (.481) |
| 2015 | Pat Narduzzi | Pittsburgh | 62-41 (.602) |
| 2015 | Jim Harbaugh | Michigan | 74-25 (.747) |
| 2016 | Willie Fritz | Tulane | 43-45 (.489) |
| 2016 | Dino Babers | Syracuse | 36-49 (.424) |
| 2016 | Kalani Sitake | BYU | 56-34 (.622) |
| 2016 | Matt Campbell | Iowa State | 46-40 (.535) |
| 2016 | Mike Neu | Ball State | 33-48 (.407) |
| 2016 | Jason Candle | Toledo | 54-32 (.628) |
| 2016 | Kirby Smart | Georgia | 81-15 (.844) |
| 2017 | Tom Allen | Indiana | 30-40 (.429) |
| 2017 | P.J. Fleck | Minnesota | 44-27 (.620) |
| 2017 | Brent Brennan | San Jose State | 27-42 (.391) |
| 2017 | Justin Wilcox | Cal | 30-36 (.455) |
| 2017 | Shawn Elliott | Georgia State | 34-38 (.472) |
Pat Fitzgerald Hazing News: Northwestern Football Coach Out After Decades in Evanston
One recent departure from this list is Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald. It’s been many years since Pat Fitzgerald started coaching at Northwestern, his alma mater – he got the head coaching gig in 2006 but had been an assistant with Northwestern for an additional five years before that.
Fitzgerald was dismissed on Monday, July 10, 2023, after an escalating hazing scandal described and confirmed by many current or former Northwestern student-athletes.
Given the history of college football, there’s a high probability that Fitzgerald lands another coaching gig somewhere at the FBS level. It’s unlikely he ever enjoys the long tenure he had at Northwestern, though.
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