How did the NFL get it right on head coaches, but America can’t with its presidents?

Unintentionally, every NFL team that has a head coaching vacancy this offseason has said it wants to “get younger at the position.”

Meanwhile, the United States of America has no choice but to get a lot older at its head coaching spot.

Neither Pete Carroll nor Bill Belichick can get a job coaching an NFL team, and yet neither is quite old enough to be President of these United States.

There are a variety of factors at play that two of the most accomplished coaches in the history of pro football are unemployed, including ageism. Carroll may be a young 72, but 72 is still 72. Belichick is 71.

Barring some crazy, dumb and stupid turn of events, America’s voting citizens will be forced to choose between current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in the election for our nation’s highest office in November.

President Biden is 81 years old, and Trump is 77.

By this time next year, our President will be 82, or 78. That will make him the oldest president we’ve ever had.

According to the CDC, the average life expectancy for an American male is 73.5 years.

This is not a rant against red, blue, right, left, or even age, but something is off about all of this.

There were eight head coaching vacancies in the NFL this offseason, of which two remain: Seattle and Washington. The Commanders aren’t hiring Carroll, and Seattle is not interested in Belichick.

Even if you take Tom Brady out of the equation, Belichick is one of the best coaches who ever lived. And he’s not a living fossil who belongs in a museum.

The man is a social misfit, and sounds clueless on the importance of language, but he knows the game, and how to prepare.

That he can’t find a head coaching job says something about his personality, and his age.

Belichick was passed over by the Atlanta Falcons for Raheem Morris, who has a career head coaching record of 21-38. He’s also 47 years old.

If Belichick is 65, he is a head coach.

Carroll is the anti-Belichick. Carroll is a people-pleaser who proved in Seattle that he could win in the NFL after blah coaching stints in the ‘90s with the Jets and Patriots.

That Carroll can’t find a head coaching job says something about his preference to remain on the West Coast, and his age.

This is not a question of competency; my dad is 91 years old, and one of the smartest men I have ever met. There is a lot to be said for experience, and knowledge gained by living.

He also takes a nap or two during the day.

This is a question of common sense. Of energy. Of memory. Of time.

While the FAA has no mandatory retirement age for pilots, but it does for commercial airline pilots, 65.

Because we get older. Because our stamina decreases.

Because our reaction times change, and slow down. Because we forget things. Because we stumble, and fall down, more easily. Because we have to use the bathroom more frequently.

Because our bodies are not designed to go on forever.

To “keep going” requires more effort to successfully navigate the most trivial tasks. It can be infuriating, and it also beats the hell out of being dead.

Our President would not be allowed to fly a commercial airliner, but will be OK to “fly” the country.

Jobs such as “Green Bay Packers head coach,” or “President of the United States,” are not suited for a 30-year-old.

There is a reason why the Founding Father’s put in our constitution that the candidate must be at least 35; this was at a time when life expectancy was about 65 years.

Thirty-five was a reasonable middle ground of knowledge, experience, drive, and energy.

These are time-consuming, demanding jobs that age even the most able-bodied person.

Why Trump or Biden wants to be President at their age only they know; it’s probably the same reason why Belichick and Carroll want to keep coaching.

The fear of a lack of purpose, and relevancy, is real. We Americans are only too sure we’re worthless if we aren’t working, and that we may die without it.

Joke’s on us, of course. We all get to the end and not a one of us will fondly say, “Remember that day at work?”

NFL teams have spoken this offseason, and they all agree there is one trait they don’t want that all of America will saddled with: A really old head coach.