Mark Stoops among the Longest Tenured Coaches in College Football

Next week Mark Stoops will take the podium at SEC Media Days for the 11th time. Only one of his peers has made more appearances at the event, Alabama’s Nick Saban.

The Kentucky head coaching position was once a rotating cast of characters. Following Billy Curry’s termination in 1996, Rich Brooks was the only of four coaches that managed to survive more than four seasons in Lexington. In the current state of college football, that’s not uncommon. An On3 analysis last spring found the average tenure of an SEC head coach was 4.0 seasons.

Longevity is rare in this sport. Yesterday we learned that even the most secure head coaches can lose their job in an instant. Northwestern fired Pat Fitzgerald after multiple hazing allegations surfaced. He was a former All-American linebacker that took the Wildcats to the Rose Bowl and was the school’s winningest head coach over 17 seasons. Just like that, he’s done.

Following the firing of Fitzgerald, who beat Kentucky in the 2017 Music City Bowl to finish a 10-win season, Mark Stoops is now one of the longest-tenured coaches in Power Five football. Here’s how the Kentucky head coach stacks up with the rest of the sport.

Longest Tenured Power Five Head Coaches

1. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa, 24 seasons
T-2. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, 18 seasons
T-2. Kyle Whittingham, Utah, 18 seasons
4. Nick Saban, Alabama, 16 seasons
5. Dabo Swinney, Clemson, 14 seasons
T-6. Mark Stoops, Kentucky, 10 seasons
T-6. Dave Doeren, NC State, 10 seasons
T-8. James Franklin, Penn State, 9 seasons
T-8. Dave Clawson, Wake Forest, 9 seasons
T-10. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan, 8 seasons
T-10. Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh, 8 seasons

The last two postseason Kentucky football games were between two of the longest-tenured coaches in college football. Unlike Fitzgerald, Kirk Ferentz survived a program culture scandal when his strength and conditioning coach was terminated. Now he’s hanging by a thread thanks to his incompetent son that coordinates the Iowa offense. Gundy and Whittingham appear to be in comfortable situations where they can coach until they’re ready to retire. Nick Saban is a coaching robot who will not stop winning National Titles until he runs into the Wildcat buzzsaw this fall at Kroger Field.

Longest Tenured Group of Five Coaches

1. Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee, 17 seasons
2. Troy Calhoun, Air Force, 16 seasons
T-3. K.C. Keeler, Sam Houston State, 9 seasons
T-3. Jeff Monken, Army, 9 seasons
T-3. Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan, 9 seasons
T-3. Chuck Martin, Miami (Oh.), 9 seasons
T-3. Craig Bohl, Wyoming, 9 seasons