Longest serving soccer coaches: Record manager tenures in football as Peter Vermes’ 16-year Sporting KC reign ends

Managers at the highest levels of modern professional football are well aware that their jobs are under a microscope on a weekly basis, and that they must perform at or above club expectations or risk finding themselves out of a job.

For example, the average tenure of Premier League managers was 787 days as of May 2024, with many coaches finding themselves out of a job after just over two years at a club.

This is true outside English football, of course, as Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes found out in late March as he left the club after nearly 16 years at the helm (officially by mutual consent). With the team winless in their first six matches of the season and bottom of the Western Conference with just one point, Vermes’ lengthy tenure wasn’t enough to save his position.

Regardless, a stint such as his should be recognized, as his consistency and steady hand is a rare find in the modern game.

The Sporting News breaks down the longest head-coaching tenures in soccer, with an eye specifically on those coming since World War II when the game changed significantly, as well as a look at where Vermes falls in the pantheon of long and successful reigns.

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Longest serving soccer coaches: Record manager tenures in football

The individual with the longest single stint as a professional football head coach is Fred Everiss who spent just a hair under 46 years (officially 45 years, 304 days) in charge of English club West Bromwich Albion from 1902 until 1948.

However, managerial tenures prior to World War II were often much longer than in the post-war era, particularly from the 1960s on, so the two eras are often thought of as separate entities. To put the two in stark contrast, nine of the top 10 longest managerial stints logged the majority of their tenures prior to 1946.

The longest post-war managerial tenure in professional football is held by Guy Roux of French club Auxerre, who retired in the summer of 2000 after exactly 36 years in charge to the day. Nobody else has come within five full years of that record amongst those post-1946.

There is also a claim to the mantle by Jimmy Davies who retired after 50 years in charge of Liverpool-based club Waterloo Dock in 2013. While this claim was verified by the English FA in 2008 once he passed Everiss, this is often overlooked as Waterloo Dock plays at the semi-professional level in the 11th tier of English football. Meanwhile, the Guinness World Records online names Roly Howard as the longest-serving manager, the Englishman having been in charge of Marine FC from 1972 to 2005. Again, though, this was outside the full-time professional leagues.

Other famous managers within the top 10 since 1946 include legendary Manchester United bosses Alex Ferguson and Matt Busby, as well as the great former Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger.

Longest soccer head coach reigns from 1946 to present

* Majority of managerial tenure falls post-1946.

Longest active head coach tenures in professional soccer

The longest active head coach in the game currently is Frank Schmidt of German club Heidenheim, where he has been in charge since the start of the 2007/08 season. Schmidt has led the team since they were competing in the fifth tier of German football, leading them steadily up the pyramid until they were promoted to the top flight in 2023. They finished eighth in their first Bundesliga season, but are battling relegation in 2024/25.

Upon his dismissal from MLS club Sporting KC on March 31, 2025, Peter Vermes was the fourth-longest active head coach in global professional football. His 15 years and 244 days in charge would also rank 40th amongst those since 1946.

With Vermes no longer with Sporting KC, Diego Simeone takes over as the fourth-longest active club manager in the world. If you include national-team managers as well, that mantle is instead held by Koldo Alvarez of Andorra.

Table correct as of March 31, 2025.