Can Andy Reid join the Coach of the Year discussion?

After an up-and-down start to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs have won four of their last five games—including three consecutive wins. As a whole, the Chiefs are playing better football.

Patrick Mahomes returned to his MVP form this past Sunday night against the Las Vegas Raiders, throwing for five touchdown passes as the offense went a second straight week without a turnover. Kansas City’s offense was also in sync from start to finish.

The Chiefs’ defense has allowed only 15.6 points over the last five games after surrendering 32.6 points per game the first five weeks. The Chiefs have made a couple of key changes on defense that have helped the unit improve during this five-game stretch.

Don’t be surprised if Andy Reid becomes a Coach of the Year candidate.

After the first five weeks, many in the national media, such as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, wrote off the Chiefs and said their season was essentially over at 2-3. Heading into Week 11 as we are in mid-November, the Chiefs currently sit atop the AFC West alone for the first time this season.

If the Chiefs continue their success, is it possible that head coach Andy Reid becomes a candidate for Coach of the Year? Think about it. Think of the voters. There are some factors that lean in his favor.

First off, the turnaround would help his case. People love a comeback story and the voters might consider him due to the Chiefs’ turnaround after they were written off by many people.

If you go back to 2015, the Chiefs started 1-5 and won 10 straight games to finish the regular season. Reid finished in second place for Coach of the Year that season due to the turnaround. Had it not been for the Carolina Panthers’ nearly perfect regular season that year, there might have been a chance that Reid would have received more votes than then-Panthers coach Ron Rivera.

With Mahomes returning to his MVP form and with the defense playing much better recently, that holds weight for the voters when thinking about who they will vote for.

Second, Reid is a veteran head coach. The voters tend to show a little bit more favoritism toward veterans, especially veteran coaches if they meet all of the other criteria. Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is the current front-runner for the award. The Titans lost the best running back in the league in Derrick Henry due to an injury, yet they’re still winning games and leading the AFC. But given how crazy this NFL season has been, if the Titans slip, it could hurt Vrabel’s chances of winning. Therefore, Reid could receive a lot of votes and maybe enough to win.

Don’t be surprised if Patriots head coach Bill Belichick joins the conversation either. Like Reid, his team started off slow and is now in the playoff hunt. Also like Reid, Belichick is a veteran. The biggest difference is that Belichick has a rookie quarterback, and that will help his case for the award.

Maybe Reid won’t win and it is likely that Vrabel takes home the award. But don’t be surprised, at the very least, if Reid’s name is part of the discussion and if he receives a couple of votes.