Where They Started

ESPN.com recently posted an interesting column, written by something called NFL Nation, about the first football job of each of the 32 NFL head coaches. Due to the recent trend of hiring bright, young offensive coaches I was surprised to find that about 2/3 of the coaches got their football starts in the previous century. There are even five (Mike Zimmer, Pete Carroll, Bruce Arians, Bill Belichick, and Vic Fangio) that made football their life's work in the 1970s. And four of those five are defensive coaches.

Perhaps this interests only me. The respective coaching trajectories of the Vikings' first head coach and current head coach couldn't be more different. Norm Van Brocklin went from the league's MVP and leading the Philadelphia Eagles to an NFL title in 1960 to the head coach of the expansion Vikings in 1961. Mike Zimmer coached an absurd 35 years before getting his first head coaching job in 2014.

Zimmer isn't the only coach to wait a ridiculously long time for his first head coaching shot. Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick are two of the most successful head coaches in the league. Carroll waited 21 years for his first head coaching opportunity. Belichick waited 16 years. For reasons that still baffle, the New York Jets fired Carroll after a single season for Rich Kotite. Also, Carroll's five years as a graduate assistant (four with Pacific, one with Arkansas) must be some kind of record.

Anyway, here are the football coaching starts for all 32 NFL head coaches from ESPN.com's article.

Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings

First football job: Assistant at Missouri from 1979 to 1980

Matt Nagy, Chicago Bears

First football job: Coaching intern with the Eagles in 2008

Matt Patricia, Detroit Lions

First football job: Graduate assistant/assistant offensive line coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York in 1996

Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers

First football job: Offensive assistant at Saginaw Valley State in Michigan in 2003

Pat Shurmur, New York Giants

First football job: Graduate assistant at Michigan State in 1988

Doug Pederson, Philadelphia Eagles

First football job: Head coach of Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 2004

Jay Gruden, Washington Redskins

First football job: Student assistant/graduate assistant at the University of Louisville in 1989

Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys

First football job: Quarterbacks coach for the Dolphins in 2005

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints

First football job: Graduate assistant at San Diego State in 1988 and 1989

Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons

First football job: Volunteer assistant defensive line coach at William & Mary in Virginia in 1994

Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers

First football job: Volunteer for the Bears going into minicamp in 1997

Bruce Arians, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

First football job: Graduate assistant at Virginia Tech in 1975

Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks

First football job: Graduate assistant at the University of the Pacific in California from 1974 to 1976

Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers

First football job: Graduate assistant at UCLA in 2003

Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona Cardinals

First football job: University of Houston under Kevin Sumlin as the offensive quality control coach in 2008 and 2009

Sean McVay, Los Angeles Rams

First job in football: Buccaneers offensive assistant in 2008

Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

First football job: Wide receivers coach at Virginia Military Institute in 1995

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens

First football job: Started his coaching career in 1984 at the age of 21 as a graduate assistant for his father, Jack, at Western Michigan

Freddie Kitchens, Cleveland Browns

First football job: Offensive assistant at Glenville State College in 1999

Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

First football job: Texas A&M University, where he served as offensive graduate assistant and tight ends coach from 2008 to 2011 under head coach Mike Sherman.

Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

First football job: Staff assistant position with the Baltimore Colts in 1975. At the age of 23, he was named special assistant to head coach Ted Marchibroda.

Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills

First football job: Graduate assistant at William & Mary in 1998

Adam Gase, New York Jets

First football job: Undergraduate assistant at Michigan State from 1996 to 1999, under head coach Nick Saban

Brian Flores, Miami Dolphins

First football job: Joined the Patriots as a scouting assistant in 2004; one of his first roles was being "The Turk" or, as he calls it, the "Grim Reaper," telling players to bring their playbook to the head coach on cut-down day

Frank Reich, Indianapolis Colts

First football job: Volunteer coach at Wingate University in North Carolina in 2005

Doug Marrone, Jacksonville Jaguars

First football job: Tight ends coach at Cortland State in New York in 1992

Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans

First football job: Assistant coach of the freshman team at St. John's Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts, in 1988

Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans

First football job: Linebackers coach at Ohio State in 2011

Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

First football job: Graduate assistant coach at Brigham Young University in 1982

Jon Gruden, Oakland Raiders

First football job: Graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee in 1986

Anthony Lynn, Los Angeles Chargers

First football job: Offensive assistant and assistant to special teams with the Broncos in 2000

Vic Fangio, Denver Broncos

First football job: Assistant coach (running backs, linebackers) at Dunmore High School in Pennsylvania in 1979