Ranking every AFC West head coach ahead of the 2024 NFL Season

There are three legitimate, high-end head coaches in the AFC West ahead of the 2024 NFL Season. Let's rank them.

The AFC West could sneakily turn into one of the better divisions in football in 2024 if the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers enter that "breakout team" tier. Both squads have the potential to be the frisky breakout team of the 2024 NFL Season, and we all know that the Kansas City Chiefs will be very good once again.

Three of the teams in the division have home-runs at head coach. Let's power rank the four head coaches in the AFC West for the 2024 NFL Season.

Ranking every AFC West head coach ahead of the 2024 NFL Season
4. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders

This was a laughably bad hire by the Las Vegas Raiders, as Antonio Pierce goes from position coach in 2023, to interim coach, to now the head coaching job. He's going to get embarrassed most weeks by his opposing head coach, and it's shaping up to be a brutal year for the Raiders, who are going to start one of Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell for the 2024 NFL Season.

Pierce likely is not going to make it long-term with the Las Vegas Raiders, and I bet the other three head coaches are licking their chops when they face the Raiders in 2024.

3. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers

Jim Harbaugh was a very good head coach during his time with the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014. The LA Charges won the Harbaugh sweepstakes, as he's back in the NFL after spending time as the head coach of Michigan, back in the collegiate ranks. Harbaugh was definitely going to hop back into the NFL at some point, and it's with Justin Herbert and the talent-depleted Chargers.

Harbaugh's coaching is likely going to be good enough in 2024 to keep the Chargers around .500, but this team is still a solid year or two away from being relevant again. Well, when were they relevant, frankly?

2. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos

Sean Payton has built a Hall of Fame resume as a head coach in the NFL, and helped take this Denver Broncos team from five wins in 2022 to eight wins in 2023. The three-win improvement was huge, and the Broncos did find themselves neck-deep in the playoff hunt at one point. Denver finished the 2023 NFL Season winning seven of their 11 games after losing five of their first six.

It was a miraculous turnaround and proves that Payton is still an elite head coach. I cringe at the head coach rankings that put LA Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh over Payton. It makes no sense, as Harbaugh has not coached in the NFL for a decade. Sean Payton is the second-best head coach in the division.

1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

Andy Reid is also the best head coach in the NFL, and he also may be a top-5 head coach all-time. He and the Kansas City Chiefs have won three Super Bowls over the last five seasons and have a legitimate shot to be the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row.

Reid constantly has his teams ready to go, and yes, a lot of credit does go to Patrick Mahomes, who is already an all-time great. It's a disaster scenario for the Denver Broncos, who surely are still years away from Reid retiring and may have to deal with Mahomes for another seven seasons.

Overall, there is no viable reason to rank Andy Reid lower than no. 1 in the AFC West.