Mark Kiszla: The AFC West isn't big enough for both Broncos' Sean Payton and Chargers' Jim Harbaugh to be happy

Born in 1963 and raised in the same old school of coaching, Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh are two ornery cusses rasslin’ for the same football glory.

It’s my belief Harbaugh is the coach that Broncos CEO Greg Penner and the team wanted to hire.

But Payton is the one that said yes to Denver’s offer early last year.

“I only read what you guys read. I didn’t know who the other candidates were. I knew they were interviewing a bunch of other candidates, and I was thinking about the other teams I was visiting … I had no idea,” Payton said Wednesday, insisting he was oblivious to the names everybody in Broncos Country and across the NFL knew were on the team’s wish list.

It came down to Harbaugh, DeMeco Ryans or Payton.

According to multiple reports, Harbaugh was not only where the Broncos began their search, but also the coach Penner doggedly pursued in early 2023, even after being told that Harbaugh wasn’t ready to leave a gig on the sidelines with the Michigan Wolverines, where he had been a Heisman Trophy finalist as a quarterback in 1986.

When Payton was hired for a reported $18 million salary in February 2023, he might well have been the Broncos’ No. 3 choice but commanded a ton of money because the team was running out of quality alternatives.

The Chargers got the man Denver wanted earlier this year, when Harbaugh decided he was finally good and ready to jump back into the pro game.

So which team got the better coach?

Well, here’s what might be the more intriguing question: Which coach picked the better situation to find success at a point in two distinguished careers when this could be the last stop for either Payton or Harbaugh?

I think Harbaugh made a choice he will regret.

They both took on what might well be the toughest challenge in the NFL, by joining a backyard brawl in the attempt to beat Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

In a league where fresh ideas and faces are en vogue, the AFC West might be where graybeard coaches are still cool.

Among the 32 current head coaches in the NFL, only six are over age 60. And three reside in the same division.

Reid (66) has won three Super Bowl rings with the Kansas City Chiefs. Harbaugh (60) finally did bag a national championship at Michigan before taking the Chargers gig. And Payton (60) led the New Orleans Saints to the league crown 15 years ago.

With Justin Herbert on his side, Harbaugh is blessed to be flying with the better Oregon Ducks quarterback, while it remains to be seen how much Payton can develop rookie Ferris Bueller, currently the 31st-ranked QB in the league.

With the commitment of Penner and the Walmart fortune behind him, however, Payton has the great good fortune of much better ownership, whereas Harbaugh is stuck with the often-dysfunctional Spanos family, which moved the Chargers from San Diego to Los Angeles, where nobody gives a hoot about them.

What’s so fascinating about Harbaugh and Payton is how close they are to being twin sons of different mothers. They are coaches that would rather be respected than liked by their players. Their teams are tough-minded and physically relentless. Payton and Harbaugh seem to enjoy punching your button almost as much as they like pushing the envelope of what’s considered fair play. They don’t suffer fools and their often-salty exchanges with the media are masterclasses in passive-aggressiveness.

They are ornery old cusses that will either win quickly or wear out their welcome.

Harbaugh and Payton are both brilliant football coaches.

With the Chargers anxious to end a two-game losing streak and the Broncos back in the thick of playoff hunt after three consecutive victories, Payton and Harbaugh match wits for the first time as division rivals on Sunday.

What’s at stake for as long as Harbaugh and Payton work the same turf?

Neither the AFC West nor the NFL playoff bracket is big enough for them both to be happy.