The AFC West is home to one of the most legendary coaching lineups in NFL history. Three of them are Super Bowl champions, with five total rings amongst the group. Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh lost to his big brother in his only Super Bowl appearance but took the Niners to the NFC Championship in three of his four years.
Perhaps more impressive, Jim Harbaugh has a winning record against Sean Payton and Pete Carroll, and is now even with Andy Reid after beating the Chiefs two weeks ago. Out of his three rival coaches, Jim has found the most success against Broncos coach Sean Payton.
As the Broncos prepare for a divisional battle against the Chargers, let’s look back at the history between the two as Sean Payton and the Broncos attempt to flip the script on Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers.
History of the Payton vs Harbaugh rivalry
During Harbaugh’s tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, he faced off against Payton’s Saints four times. One of those games came during Sean Payton’s season-long suspension after Bountygate. Without counting that one against him, Payton managed only one win against Harbaugh, in the 2013 season.
Each of the three games was decided by less than a score; none by more than four points. During that stretch, Harbaugh’s Niners put up 83 points to Payton’s 79. Though the win-loss record leans toward Harbaugh, the battles were close, heated chess matches.
In this new era, the two legendary coaches have taken over rival franchises and are now set to face off at least twice a year. The first year of this renewed rivalry went entirely in Harbaugh’s favor, as the Chargers swept the Broncos in the 2024 regular season. Not only that, Los Angeles won by seven in both contests.
It’s not a bad-blood rivalry. The two have great respect for one another and even share the same agent. Whenever they’ve been asked about each other, it’s always a heaping dose of praise and admiration. When Jim returned to the NFL, Sean recognized his impact and importance: “Our league is better with Jim in it.”
The Broncos are looking to recapture the AFC West, but that quest has been thwarted by Harbaugh and the Chargers, who now hold an early lead in the division. If Payton is going to lead his team to a division title, it may not be Andy Reid and the Chiefs standing in the way. It’s time for Sean to change the narrative — and evening out his 1-4 record against Harbaugh may be the key in this Game of Thrones.