How old are college football’s national title coaches?

Have you ever wondered how old most head coaches are when they win their first national titles?

Most first-time champs are around 50 years old.

Looking back at the last 30 years, 13 of the 21 guys who won their first natties were 50-something, with nine in their 40s and only one in his 60s.

The youngest was Bob Stoops — when he won his first and only title at Oklahoma, he was 40 years old (below it says 39, since that’s how old he was Week 1 of the season). The oldest was Bobby Bowden, who was 63 when he won his first at Florida State in 1993.

Here’s the full list, going by their age at Week 1:

• 1987: Jimmy Johnson, 44 (Miami)
• 1988: Lou Holtz, 51 (Notre Dame)
• 1989: Dennis Erickson, 42 (Miami)
• 1990: Bill McCartney, 50 (Colorado) and Bobby Ross, 53 (Georgia Tech)
• 1991: Don James, 58 (Washington)
• 1992: Gene Stallings, 57 (Alabama)
• 1993: Bobby Bowden, 63 (Florida State)
• 1994: Tom Osborne, 57 (Nebraska)
• 1996: Steve Spurrier, 51 (Florida)
• 1997: Lloyd Carr, 52 (Michigan)
• 1998: Phillip Fulmer, 48 (Tennessee)
• 2000: Bob Stoops, 39 (Oklahoma)
• 2001: Larry Coker, 53 (Miami)
• 2002: Jim Tressel, 49 (Ohio State)
• 2003: Nick Saban, 51 (LSU) and Pete Carroll, 51 (USC)
• 2005: Mack Brown, 54 (Texas)
• 2006: Urban Meyer, 42 (Florida)
• 2007: Les Miles, 53 (LSU)
• 2010: Gene Chizik, 48 (Auburn)
• 2013: Jimbo Fisher, 47 (Florida State)
• 2016: Dabo Swinney, 46 (Clemson)

*Note: Some years list two head coaches, thanks to split national titles back in the day.

Since 2006, it might look like more coaches in their 40s are winning titles. Perhaps this is just a coincidence, but maybe it’s that talented head coaches are moving up the ranks more quickly.

As for who could join Stoops as one of the youngest ever, Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, who’s 34, looks to be the most likely — his team lost in overtime to Georgia in the Playoff last year. On the other side, Mark Dantonio is 62 and has made one Playoff so far.

Dope article from sbnation.com