NFL power rankings: Ranking AFC West head coaches ahead of the 2024 season
The AFC West certainly have some very talented head coaches. Let's power rank them ahead of the 2024 NFL Season. Today kicks off the 2024 NFL Season, as the Baltimore Ravens travel to Kansas City to face the two-time defending Super Bowl champions Chiefs.
The AFC is quite loaded heading into the 2024 NFL Season, so the Chiefs may again have an uphill battle to even make it to the conference championship game. The AFC West saw two new head coaches enter the mix, and every head coach besides Reid has not be on the job for more than two seasons.
Let's power rank all AFC West head coaches ahead of the 2024 NFL Season.
NFL power rankings: Ranking AFC West head coaches ahead of the 2024 season
4. Antonio Pierce, Las Vegas Raiders
Clearly the worst head coach in the AFC West, Antonio Pierce will enter his first season as an NFL head coach and will also enter just his third season coaching at this level. I am not sure it was the right decision for the Raiders front office to make Pierce the permanent head coach, but here we are.
Pierce did lead the Raiders nicely down the stretch, but often times when a head coach gets fired in-season, the interim head coach is able to ride a nice run. It happens often. For the long-term, I do not see the vision with Pierce, and he's got quite a lot to prove in year one. To be fair, his GM, Tom Telesco, did not do him any favors with the quarterback situation.
3. Jim Harbaugh, Los Angeles Chargers
I struggle to see how Jim Harbaugh can be thought of as one of the best head coaches in the NFL. He last coached in this league a decade ago, so he's going to have to prove himself yet again. Finding success at every head coaching stop of his career, Harbaugh will likely find success with the Los Angeles Chargers, who hope to finally unlock Justin Herbert's full potential.
Harbaugh is a good head coach, and if was the head coach of my favorite team, I'd love it, but he's got a lot to prove still and is being ranked behind two future Hall of Fame head coaches.
2. Sean Payton, Denver Broncos
Arguably the best offensive coach of this generation, Sean Payton enters year two with the Denver Broncos. He helped the Broncos improve by three wins from 2022 to 2023, and if you were watching them this past season, the improvement was clear. Payton tried to make it work with Russell Wilson, and it did at times, but it was not a long-term marriage.
Payton threw quite a bit into Bo Nix, and it feels like this is something Payton has to get right for the sake of his NFL legacy. With a Super Bowl championship under his belt and a winning playoff record, Sean Payton is one of the best coaches in the NFL.
1. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs
This is the obvious choice. Andy Reid will lead his Kansas City Chiefs team in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL Season, which kicks off today. Reid and the Chiefs look to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row. They've also won three out of the last five, and have been to four of the previous five Super Bowls.
It's a dynasty, period, and Reid is one of the five best head coaches of all-time in the NFL. With Reid slowly approaching 70 years old, he may only have a few years left before retirement come calling. However, as of now, Andy Reid is the best head coach in the AFC West, and it's not particularly close.