NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Bill Belichick may be the head football coach at the University of North Carolina, but there was almost a plan to bring him back to the NFL thanks to a fellow coach he has great ties to.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and Bill Belichick go back years. Both were part of Bill Parcells’ staff, although at different times, before crossing paths as NFL head coaches.
In a detailed story about Payton and the Broncos’ playoff appearances last season, which ended with an AFC Championship Game loss to Belichick’s former New England Patriots, ESPN reported that Payton came up with the idea of ​​approaching Broncos owner Greg Penner with a plan to hire Belichick as the team’s temporary head coach until it reached 15 wins.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick on the sideline in the first quarter at Kenan Stadium on September 1, 2025. (Bob Donnan/Image Images)
That exact win total would have put Belichick past the great Don Shula for the all-time coaching wins record.
The report indicated that Payton would have still been on staff as an assistant head coach, and once Belichick reached his win total, Payton would once again take over as head coach.
BILL BELICHICK CONFIRMS THAT THE FEUD WITH TOM BRADY WAS FICTION, PRAISES HIS MARSHAL’S LEADERSHIP FROM DAY ONE
In the end, Payton didn’t officially make the offer to Penner, deciding it would have been too complicated and Belichick would have had to accept his cut as well.
There hasn’t been anything like it in football, but it again raises the question about Belichick’s history in the league, which has been a hot topic since he and the Patriots parted ways.
Belichick’s impact on football is second to none, although it was tarnished during the most recent Pro Football Hall of Fame vote when he found himself at the center of controversy.
Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos reacts during the first half against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Belichick was not a Hall of Famer at his first election, with Tom Brady and others dumbfounded by the fact that the coach with the second-most wins in history was not preparing his bust for the halls of Canton, Ohio. But some voters considered the controversy that swirled around Belichick during his time in Foxborough, which included Spygate, and believed he was not yet worthy of the honor.
Since he left the NFL, many have wondered if Belichick would ever surpass Shula’s win total. That question lingered even after he accepted the open job at North Carolina, his first as a college head coach.
And it still looms over Belichick’s legacy, especially after his firm stance that he will continue to play his role with the Tar Heels in his second season despite murmurs that he would consider NFL head coaching vacancies after the 2025 season.
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick greets a recruit on the sideline before an NCAA college football game against Stanford, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
As of now, Belichick is content to lead the way in Chapel Hill, while Payton aims to get the Broncos back to the Super Bowl in 2026.
