Shocking report states Sean Payton wanted to create NFL history with Broncos in 2024

Shocking report states Sean Payton wanted to create NFL history with Broncos in 2024 originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Sean Payton has always had a ton of respect for former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. But would he have enough respect to give him his job, even if it was temporary?

According to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN, that’s exactly what Payton was considering doing. After Belichick and New England went their separate ways following the 2024 season, Payton reportedly considered asking the front office to hire Belichick as the team’s head coach while he stepped down to assistant head coach, overseeing the offense. The reason? So that Belichick could become the league’s all-time winningest head coach. 

Once Belichick surpassed that mark, Payton would then take his post as the team’s head coach back, according to this story. It’s a wild one, and it’s hard to tell if it’s true or not, but it obviously never came to fruition. As Schefter said, “In the end it was too complicated — and maybe too fanficul”. 

Too complicated would be one way to put it. Here, we’ll operate as though this story is true. Including the playoffs, Don Shula is the winningest coach in NFL history with a total of 347 wins. Belichick is right behind him with 333. 

Had Belichick been brought aboard to be the head man in Denver, he would have needed just 15 wins to be on top of the mountain. But he also would have taken over in Bo Nix’s rookie season. Though Payton would have been leading the offense, how would Nix have meshed with Belichick?

It’s a strange idea that has become public, but it’s not one that everyone is buying.

Was Sean Payton Really Going to Step Down for Bill Belichick? #BroncosCountry#Broncos@JoshuaDover | @Shapaliciouspic.twitter.com/i0hU6eb9ZE

— Denver Sports 104.3 (@DenSports1043) July 7, 2026

Payton and Belichick both come from the Bill Parcells coaching tree, so the respect between the two men goes back decades. But it would be awfully strange for Payton to consider this, given his own ego and the quick success he found in Denver. There is no guarantee that Belichick would have been able to do the same. 

At best, it would have taken Belichick two seasons to reach those 15 wins. How would that impact the continuity of the team? After leaving New England, Belichick was hired by the University of North Carolina to take over their college program and he flopped in year one, going 4-8. 

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This likely never made it to the office of Greg Penner, but if it did, he almost certainly laughed and shot it down. It’s a fun idea, but the Broncos are in good hands, and there would have been no need to create a detour, even for NFL history. 

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