The Denver Broncos are gearing up for the 2026 campaign, and there are quite a few reasons for optimism. The team appears to have a dynamic head coach/quarterback combination with Sean Payton and Bo Nix, as this duo led the team all the way to the AFC Championship Game last year. If Nix didn’t miss the game due to injury, there’s a decent chance the Broncos would have made it all the way to the Super Bowl.
Instead, the team loaded up over the past few months, giving Payton one of the most talented rosters in the league. In a surprising revelation, though, it turns out that Payton was actually considering temporarily departing from his post ahead of the 2025 campaign so that legendary head coach Bill Belichick could come to town and break the NFL’s all-time wins record for a coach. With this report catching attention, Payton recently addressed this unique development.
Sean Payton Shoots Down Bill Belichick Rumors
Belichick’s historic stint with the New England Patriots came to an end after the 2023 campaign, but after he failed to find a job in the NFL, he turned to the world of sports media. After spending a year working as a broadcaster and commentator, Belichick surprisingly spurned the pros for the world of college football, accepting a job as the North Carolina Tar Heels’ head coach.
The move was a surprise, as many folks figured Belichick would want to break Don Shula’s record for most victories by a head coach in NFL history. Instead, he made his first foray into college football since the 1970s, when he was just beginning his work as a football coach. If it were up to Payton, though, things would not have unfolded this way.
Payton is a close friend of Belichick’s, so he wanted to see him break the aforementioned record. According to a report from Seth Wickersham of ESPN, it got to the point where Payton considered temporarily stepping down as the Broncos’ head coach so that Belichick could take over for him and make the record his own. Payton revealed, though, that while he did come up with this idea, he never seriously considered taking action on it.
“There was this moment where I was like, you know, I’d like to hire this guy,” Payton said in an interview with SportsBoom. “I’m just a big fan of Bill’s and I think our league’s better when he’s in it … That lasted for about 10 minutes. But it was just one of those ideas that, you know, sometimes you’ll brainstorm something, and then you’ll quickly move on. But I’ve got a ton of respect for Bill. I think that much of him. And so it was just one of those crazy thoughts.”
What Should the Broncos Make of This Sean Payton, Bill Belichick Report?
GettySean Payton shot down the notion that he was seriously considering letting Bill Belichick replace him as the Broncos head coach
Nothing like this has ever been seen before in the NFL, which is why Payton’s hair-brained idea generated so much attention. Regardless of whether or not he was serious about actually making it happen, it is a bit concerning, simply for the fact that he at least appeared to be willing to leave Denver, even if it was only for a short period of time.
Could Payton’s commitment to the Broncos be wavering? It’s fair to wonder, but winning cures everything in the world of sports, and when taking into account the season that Denver just put together, you can bet that Payton is invested in getting this team over the hump. Ultimately, this report should be nothing more than an interesting footnote for Payton and the Broncos as they turn their attention to the 2026 season.
Sean Payton Breaks Silence on Bill Belichick, Broncos Report