Kansas City enjoys one of the best head coaches in the league. With no clear-cut front-runner in the AFC West this year, Reid’s consistency will lead the Chiefs to another divisional title.
In 2012 the Kansas City Chiefs were not a very good football team. They finished in the cellar of the AFC West with the worst record in football at 2-14. The Chiefs then did what all failing teams do (unless you are the Browns): they started cleaning house, which left the head coaching job up for grabs. Luckily for Kansas City, Andy Reid had just become available.
Ever since Reid came aboard, the Chiefs have had consistent success. They have made the playoffs four out of the five years that Reid has been the head coach. With that consistency, Kansas City has won all but two of their divisional games over the past three seasons. Winning that often against divisional rivals is no easy feat. Which is why the Chiefs, led by Reid, still have the best chance of winning the division this year.
Fans are understandably frustrated with Reid. The team’s inability to go deeper in the playoffs under his leadership has been exasperating to watch. There is no doubting his ability during the regular season though. If we look at Reid’s track record as a whole, we can see that he has had 14 winning seasons out of his 20 years in the league. Comparing this track record to the other coaches within the division honestly is not fair.
The Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos both had head coaching vacancies heading into the 2017 season. Both teams decided to hire first-time head coaches with mixed results. Under the leadership of Anthony Lynn, the Chargers ended up finishing their season with a 9-7 record. The Chargers season started off rough with a four-game losing streak.
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When the Chargers finally achieved their first win of the season, it was against the New York Giants. A common theme that we see with the games the Chargers won last year is that they came at the expense of lesser opponents. They only managed to beat one playoff team last season, and that team was the Buffalo Bills. With the current roster that Los Angeles enjoys, they should be winning against tougher opponents. As much as the national media likes the personnel in Los Angeles, Lynn has done little to prove that he is someone that could lead them to a division title.
With as much as Lynn has to prove going into this season, Vance Joseph will have an even harder time winning a division title. Joseph lead the Broncos to a 5-11 record last season and almost did not return this year as the head coach.
While the team did enjoy a good draft and an upgrade at the quarterback position, there are still questions along the offensive line that must be answered. We also still have no idea how players like Jake Butt, who spent last season on injured reserve, will pan out for the team. If anything the Broncos have as many questions to answer as the Chiefs do when it comes to their recent acquisitions. In a situation like this, most people would pick the more experienced coach to win out, which Reid is.
The only coach that can compete with Reid as the best coach in the division is Jon Gruden. While Gruden has not had a head coaching gig in 10 years, he still is regarded as one of the best football minds out there. The issue with Gruden is whether or not he can transition into the new NFL. Things are not the same as they were in 1998, connecting with a younger generation could be a massive challenge for him.
With the recent reports that Gruden has had little to no contact with his best player Khalil Mack, and his seemingly endless quest to add players towards the end of their careers to his squad, you have to wonder if what he is doing will work. Gruden could very well be playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers, but at this point, it is hard to believe that.
With so much instability and unknown with the other AFC West Coaches, it should be hard to bet against Reid and his track record. Kansas City may not have the best overall roster, or the best draft class this season, but What the Chiefs do have is consistency. Which is probably the rarest thing to have in the league today. Luckily we do not have to wait much longer to see all of this play out.
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