Young-at-Heart Leaders Clash Sunday at Arrowhead

The problem, as the ensuing silence awkwardly conveyed, is that most players have never heard of Geritol, the vitamin mix used primarily by aging adults in the 1900s. Toss it into an old shopping cart along with Ben Gay, Tums and Tylenol.

But just as his team remarkably rebounded from 13 penalties in Week 5 to zero in Sunday night’s 30-17 win over Detroit, Reid doesn’t repeat mistakes. That’s why he’s able to reach players 40 years younger.

Sunday's postgame locker room

That 67-year-old communication style was on display Sunday night in Kansas City’s victorious locker room. A few minutes after separating an emotional game-ending fight between Brian Branch and JuJu Smith-Schuster, the witty Reid began his postgame speech. As the room quieted to listen to its ageless leader, Reid asked whether every player had returned from the field.

“Yeaaaaaaaahhhhh,” Smith-Schuster screamed, bounding in from the showers with his bloody nose. Credit Reid with a genius script that caused a locker room to erupt in euphoria.

Reid might meet his match on Sunday, though. While age is simply a number, ageless counterpart Pete Carroll has the highest number in NFL history. And we’re not talking about cholesterol.

The Las Vegas Raiders head coach is widely known in league circles for defying his age by firing passes to receivers, sprinting around drills at practices and generally stunning younger players with his knowledge of popular culture.

Oldest active coaches square off Sunday

One thing’s for sure, though. Neither Reid nor Carroll are your grandfather’s George Halas. Courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau, here are the oldest individuals in history to serve as head coaches in an NFL game, entering this week (ages as of this Sunday, listed by years and days; *--active).

1. Pete Carroll, 74-034*

2. Romeo Crennel, 73-199

3. George Halas, 72-318

4. Marv Levy, 72-139

5. Bill Belichick, 71-266

6. Tom Coughlin, 69-125

7. Bruce Arians, 69-098

8. Dick Vermeil, 69-063

9. Ted Marchibroda, 67-287

10. Andy Reid, 67-214*