Can Sean Payton or Jim Harbaugh Catch Chiefs Andy Reid in Playoffs?

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In a division filled with premiere coaches, some are still chasing the big kahuna – the Chiefs.

The AFC West is seemingly as competitive as an NFL division can get, with three 10-win teams – the only such case in the AFC.

Yet, the Chiefs still came away with a four game lead over the second place Chargers.

The division is spearheaded by three coaches with career win percentages north of 60%, in Jim Harbaugh, Sean Payton, and Andy Reid.

Between them are four Super Bowls, and a College Football Playoff National Championship.

 

 

Yet, in a division of champions, Andy Reid is seemingly on a tier of his own.

Big Red has won 73% of his games as commander of the Chiefs.

coming after a 14-year stint in Philadelphia where he was no slouch either.

winning 58.3% and leading the Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance.

Many may look on the surface and say that Reid has lucked out because he has one thing no other coach has.

Patrick Mahomes. However, Mahomes isn’t the sole reason for the Chiefs’ success.

After all, the Chiefs were 53-27 under Reid before Mahomes had ever started a game.

As Mahomes has blossomed into one of the most talented quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen, Reid has continued to improve too.

His play calling is unquestionably one of the best in the world.

and he routinely leads top-10 defensive units.

For Payton, a Super Bowl winner in New Orleans, he just led the Denver Broncos to a playoff birth with a rookie quarterback.

A Broncos team that, coming into the season, were projected to win less than 6 games, and granted only a 4.9% chance to make the playoffs.

Payton is a proven winner who gets the most out of his teams.

he’s never had a team finish with less than seven wins in his 17 years.

and has only gone below .500 five times.

Harbaugh is the least experienced in the NFL out of the bunch, but he’s no stranger to winning.

He was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014.

winning 69.5% of his games and taking them to a Super Bowl.

Harbaugh has spent the last nine seasons at Michigan, taking over a team that went 5-7 before his arrival.

and winning 78.1% of his matches since, including a National Championship.

Harbaugh is looking to do something similar with the Chargers.

who went 5-12 last season and just finished the regular season 11-6.

Under Harbaugh’s tutelage, the Chargers’ defense went from a bottom 10 unit to the best in the NFL.

The AFC West is filled with young, talented rosters, and experienced, ever-learning coaches who have established reputations as winners and transformative leaders.

The division will be a slugfest for years to come.

and we’re going to get a taste of what’s to come in the playoffs this year.

with three of the squads making the postseason.

Whether or not Harbaugh or Payton can catch Reid remains to be seen.

It does seem to be Reid’s division to lose.

but Harbaugh and Payton are rightfully feared around the league in their own rights.