Ranking the top five Kansas City Chiefs coaches of all time

4. Dick Vermeil

As I said in the introduction, I think the third and fourth spots on this list are no brainers. Dick Vermeil was a good coach in Kansas City, but ultimately couldn’t achieve enough to rival any of the top three coaches on this list. Vermeil’s 44 wins are the fourth most in team history and his .550 winning percentage is fourth best as well.

While Vermeil had some entertaining seasons, it ultimately didn’t lead to any postseason success. The only time the Chiefs made the playoffs under Vermeil was the year of the infamous “no punt game” where they lost in the divisional round to the Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs did win the division that season, but that was the only time. So in terms of division titles and playoff success, Vermeil’s record is the exact same as Todd Haley.

That having been said, Vermeil was clearly a more successful all around coach in K.C. than Haley was. The gap between those two (or whoever you might pick for the 5th spot) is pretty sizable. Unfortunately for Vermeil, the gap between him and the top three on this list is equally sizable. The top three coaches in team history all won multiple playoff games with the team and that is something that Vermeil and his high-powered offense couldn’t do.

I really liked Vermeil and who knows what could have been if they had even a mediocre defense during his tenure, but in the end you have to judge a coach off of what he actually achieved. I don’t see how you can put him in any other spot but fourth on the list of all time great Chiefs coaches.

Next up we get to the first of three true Chiefs coaching greats.