After watching Bill Belichick get dumped by the New England Patriots in 2024, Sean Payton had an idea that would have turned the NFL upside down: He wanted Belichick to serve as the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
The idea never came to fruition, but if Payton had been able to pull it off, it would have created the most unique coaching situation in NFL history. The plan called for Payton to step aside as head coach so Belichick could take his spot.
During the NFL playoffs in January, an ESPN reporter was embedded with the Broncos, and that’s when Payton shared the details about his crazy idea (although the playoffs happened back in January, the ESPN story wasn’t published until Tuesday).
Why Payton wanted to hire Belichick
Payton is a student of the game who knows NFL history, so he’s well aware that Belichick ended his time in New England with 333 career wins. That ranks second on the NFL’s all-time list for most coaching wins, behind only Don Shula, who finished his legendary career with 347 victories.
With Belichick needing just 15 wins to break the all-time record, Payton thought the Broncos could help the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach get to 348. Under Payton’s plan, he would have stepped aside as head coach and turned the job over to Belichick. Payton would have remained as assistant head coach while also running the offense.
The Broncos went 10-7 and made the playoffs under Payton in 2024. If they had done the same under Belichick, it would have pushed his total to 343 wins, leaving him just five shy of breaking Shula’s record.
In 2025, the Broncos finished 14-3 and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC. They picked up their fifth win of the season against the Giants, which would have been a fitting way for Belichick to set the all-time wins record because he spent 12 seasons with the Giants as an assistant early in his coaching career. Not to mention, Payton also spent time as an assistant coach with the Giants (1999-2002).
And forget the all-time record: If Belichick had been with the Broncos in 2025, it would have set up the ultimate revenge game with Belichick facing the Patriots in the AFC Championship.
That possibility alone almost makes it too bad this never happened. Belichick, who was out of football in 2024, seemed to be waiting for an NFL job that year, so Payton’s plan theoretically could have worked if he had been able to figure out the details and get Belichick on board. (North Carolina ended up hiring the coaching legend in December 2024.)
The 62-year-old Payton was going to pitch this wild idea to Broncos owner Greg Penner, but in the end, the proposal never got quite that far. According to ESPN, the plan ended up being “too complicated.” Since Belichick needs 15 wins to break the record, it likely would have required at least a two-year commitment, adding another layer of complications.
There aren’t many situations where this could have worked, but the Broncos might have actually been able to pull it off. Payton and Belichick have a relationship that goes back decades, and one thing they have in common is that both were hardened by working under Bill Parcells early in their careers.
The last time Belichick and Payton faced off came in Week 16 of the 2023 season. In the lead-up to that game, Belichick mentioned the Parcells connection.
“He’s one of the best,” Belichick said of Payton. “We had a common experience through Bill Parcells. We’ve both been yelled at a lot. We share a lot in common there.”
Parcells was the Giants’ head coach for eight years, and Belichick was with him for that entire stint, including six seasons as defensive coordinator. As for Payton, he was the assistant head coach in Dallas for three seasons (2003-05) while Parcells was the head coach.
Before they faced off in 2023, Belichick was very complimentary of Payton.
“Sean does a great job,” Belichick said. “Sean’s a really, really smart guy, has a great background in terms of just football fundamentals, toughness, a playing style that’s a little bit of a throwback style, but at the same time very creative.”
The Patriots went 4-13 in 2023, but one of those wins came over Payton’s Broncos in that Week 16 game. Less than a month later, Belichick was out of a job, and that’s when Payton hatched the wild idea that never came to be.
