When Oklahoma State fired Mike Gundy, it looked like the end of an era. Despite the free-flowing nature of the game, with the transfer portal and coaching moves, you’d expect both athletes and coaches to bolt schools at any possible chance. Moreover, the higher demands for success place extra stress on the job, making it far more tense.
Which FBS Coaches Own the Longest Current Tenures?
Gundy’s dismissal moves everyone up on this list. Many fans grew up with Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden staying for a generation. With the lure of higher salaries, keeping coaches that long looks like a chore and is tough to do with fluctuating budgets. Furthermore, the NIL era hastened some retirements, while the broadcasting booth made leaving or enduring a firing much more comfortable.
Which coaches currently hold the longest tenures in college football?
7-tie) Chuck Martin (Miami-OH, 2014-)
After back-to-back Division 2 national championships at Grand Valley State, Martin took a chance as the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, earning an appearance in the 2012 national championship game.
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In 2014, Martin arrived in Oxford looking to erase the memories of the previous regime’s 8-28 record. Martin endured a 5-19 record for the first two seasons before slowly turning things around for the RedHawks. With a career record of 65-70, Martin continues grinding in a place many have forgotten.
7-tie) Chris Creighton (Eastern Michigan, 2014-)
Before Creighton arrived in 2014, the Eagles had just four winning seasons since 1975. Winning in Ypsilanti does not look easy. However, in the ensuing 12 seasons, Creighton led EMU to four, by far the most successful times in the school’s FBS history. Add six bowl games, and you can ignore the 58-78 record.
7-tie) James Franklin (Penn State, 2014-)
After winning 61.5% of his games coaching Vanderbilt, Franklin parlayed that into a job in Happy Valley. Surprisingly, he enjoyed more success with the Nittany Lions, sporting a record of 104-42.
Franklin continues to build upon a strong foundation. Despite falling short in the Covid-impacted 2020 season, Franklin led PSU to 12 bowl games, winning six. On top of that, Franklin turned Penn State into a College Football Playoff team and a legitimate threat to win it all.
7-tie.) Jeff Monken (Army, 2014-)
The military academies require a different type of coach. Due to the size regulations and stringent fitness tests, players are not five-star recruits or larger-framed. So, what works is the triple option.
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The bane of the existence of fans and defenses everywhere, the offense levels the playing field and takes the type of discipline that schools like Army offer. Monken, with a .585 winning percentage, made the Black Knights of the Hudson a perennial winner in the American Conference, with a 5-1 bowl record.
6.) Mark Stoops (Kentucky, 2013-)
Many assert that Kentucky is a basketball school, as the hoops program dominates the state. However, football does claim Bear Bryant as a former head coach. Stoops ushered in an era of competitiveness for the Wildcats. In the SEC, where there does not seem to be a pushover program, Stoops owns a 4-4 bowl record.
5.) Dave Doeren (NC State, 2013-)
With three bowl wins in nine chances, you’d expect to label Doeren’s tenure in Raleigh a failure. Yet, winning 57.7% of his games changes that sentiment. While not spectacular, Doeren’s meat-and-potatoes approach to both sides of the ball will always give the Wolfpack a chance.
4.) Dabo Swinney (Clemson, 2008-)
Despite a 1-3 start, Swinney patrols the sidelines as the most successful coach in the Tigers’ history. First, with 78.4% of his games ending in victory, Swinney entered the upper echelon of coaching after two national championships and 12 bowl wins. He could keep climbing the list.
3.) Troy Calhoun (Air Force, 2007-)
Like the Army, Calhoun relies on the option and strict discipline to win the game. Plus, if you add the altitude of Colorado Springs, the Falcons enjoy a profound home-field advantage. Since 2007, Calhoun has taken the sidelines for his alma mater. His offense harkens back to the 1980s, when his coaching mentor, Fisher DeBerry, ran the same scheme. Defenses know it but cannot stop it.
2.) Kyle Whittingham (Utah, 2004- )
Coaches who’ve won half as many as Whittingham’s 170 wins in his 22 years in Salt Lake City sometimes talk twice as much. To his credit, the Utes’ coach emphasizes experience and knowledge over flash.
Seven 10-win seasons and 11 bowl victories in just over two decades to match suggest that the coach will not leave the school unless he retires. Additionally, scores of NFL-caliber players walked through his locker and played on Sundays.
1.) Kirk Ferentz (Iowa, 1999-)
The current dean of FBS coaches has never won a national championship and is criticized for his occasionally stale offenses. Yet, Ferentz turns out NFL prospects, especially linemen. Iowa maintains a strong recruiting base: 27 years, 207 wins, and 21 bowl games. You can question the offensive struggles, but never the hard work and fight that Ferentz’s team puts up weekly.
