Payton vs. Harbaugh Matchup Has A Surprising History

The Denver Broncos play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, and on the surface this looks like a coaching mismatch. The Chargers are a mess, with a new offensive coordinator who isn’t working out with coach Jim Harbaugh, and on paper this looks like a coaching matchup that coach Sean Payton should win, especially now that Payton has taken back his play sheet and will be calling the plays. 

Not so fast, though. The history says otherwise, as Harbaugh has proven to be one of Payton’s toughest opponents on the opposite sidelines. 

Sam Jane of the Denver Post did a deeper dive into the history, and he said that Harbaugh has “hexed” Payton, which seems like hyperbole on the surface. 

Consider this, though: The Broncos considered Harbaugh before they hired Payton back in 2023, and they actually interviewed him as well. Harbaugh ultimately decided to return to the University of Michigan for another year, but he and Broncos CEO Greg Penner spoke several times before Harbaugh called Penner to tell him he was staying at Michigan. 

As for Payton’s side of this, he wasn’t thrilled when Harbaugh was hired within the same division, and the two coaches have squared of four times since. The Chargers have won three of those four games, but the Broncos were able to flip the script last year

Denver earned its first win over Harbaugh and the Chargers with a 19-3 in Week 18. The win clinched the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed for the Broncos, although it’s important to note that the Chargers rested many of their starters, including quarterback Justin Herbert as LA was preparing for its playoff game. 

It’s tough to tell who has the edge in this one, simply because both teams have been completely out of character compared to what the expectations were early in the season. Both teams were expected to contend, and many predictions had the Chargers actually edging out the Broncos for the AFC West title. 

That forecast made sense at the time, but it’s hard to fathom now. In the current situation, the Chargers are more of a mess than the Broncos are, and neither team has been good. 

The one unit between the two teams that’s been reliable has been the Denver defense, so that’s the one to go with. It’s not an easy game to predict, but at least Harbaugh has history going for him if you want to look at it that way.