Bill Belichick’s road back to the NFL almost took a far stranger turn than anyone knew.
Before he settled into North Carolina in 2025, the six-time Super Bowl winner had already spent the 2024 offseason exploring job possibilities after his split from the New England Patriots. Nothing came together, and after sitting out the 2024 season, he eventually landed with the Tar Heels. Even with UNC off to a slow start, Belichick’s name has still been floating around for NFL openings in the 2026 cycle, though he has made it clear he plans to stay in Chapel Hill.
But there was another path that nearly opened up before he ever got to North Carolina.
According to Seth Wickersham of ESPN, Sean Payton briefly entertained a wild idea for the Denver Broncos: step aside from the head coach role, let Belichick take over, and then return once Belichick passed Don Shula’s all-time wins mark. Shula’s record stands at 347 victories, while Belichick sits second with 333.
Wickersham reported that Payton and Belichick’s connection runs deep, built over years of mutual respect and, as he put it, “mutual trauma from working under Parcells.” He also wrote that Belichick had sent Payton bullet points he once used with Patriots teams.
The proposed Broncos setup would have been as unusual as it sounds. Wickersham wrote: “When Belichick and the Patriots divorced in 2024, Payton considered presenting Broncos owner Greg Penner a proposal for the ages: Hire Belichick as head coach until he reached 15 wins, enough to break Don Shula's career record of 347.
Payton would temporarily step down to assistant head coach and run the offense, then move back after Belichick became the all-time leader. In the end, it was too complicated -- and maybe too fanciful.”
In the end, the idea never got off the ground. Belichick moved on to North Carolina, and the Broncos stayed put with Payton in charge.
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