How Did the Atrocious AFC West Sink so Far, so Fast?

The AFC West is bad. I mean "tuuurrible" (trademark of Charles Barkley).

Yes, the Denver Broncos are exempt from this conversation. They are 8-3 with a legitimate chance of securing a first-round bye. 

However, the majority of the division is so abysmal that no one should be completely caught off guard if the three other teams sever ties with their head coaches.

For the record, I don't think Dennis Allen will be fired, but I'm also not going to stick my neck out there and say it with any certainty. We are talking about the Oakland Raiders.

Norv Turner has run out of chances to get the San Diego Chargers over the hump. He has fielded some competitive teams in the past, but a 4-7 record after winning three of the first four has ensured his pink slip.

In Kansas, Romeo Crennel should have probably never have been given the head job . Not after his track record with the Cleveland Browns (24-40). But the Kansas City Chiefs didn't start their fall from grace utilizing good football sense.

Before we enter the discussion of why, I have to make sure I drive home how disgusting this division is. Even including Denver, the division has a point differential of minus-173.

That's not good.

Now, the previous four paragraphs contain two reasons why this division has been so atrocious: the highlighted coaches. Do any of the above three inspire any confidence?

Exactly.

Another solid reason for the smell of squalor emanating from the West is the level of talent at the quarterback position.

Matt Cassel had one decent season with the New England Patriots and one good season with the Chiefs. Outside of those two years, he has a career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 34 to 33.

Philip Rivers is talented. Or he was. Who knows anymore, considering he's thrown 34 interceptions in the last 24 games. 

And Carson Palmer is Carson Palmer. He's a dink-and-dunker who hasn't been good since 2006 or even decent since 2009.

Almost every successful team over the past decade has been built around the quarterback and coach. The same can be said for those that are abysmal.