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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 another head coach with whom he has a great connection.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and Bill Belichick go back several years. Both were on Bill Parcells’ staff, albeit at different times, before crossing paths as NFL head coaches.
In a detailed story on 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 had the idea to approach Broncos owner Greg Penner with a plan to hire Belichick as the team’s temporary head coach until he reached 15 wins.
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North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick on the sidelines in the first quarter at Kenan Stadium on September 1, 2025. (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)
That exact win total would have allowed Belichick to pass the great Don Shula for the all-time record for practice wins.
The report stated that Payton would still have been on staff as an assistant head coach, and once Belichick reached the win total, Payton would take over the head coaching position.
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Ultimately, Payton didn’t officially make the offer to Penner, deciding it would have been too complicated and that Belichick should have accepted on his side as well.
There hasn’t been anything like this in football, but it again raises the question of 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 unparalleled, although it became obscure in the latest Pro Football Hall of Fame voting as 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 wasn’t a first-ballot Hall of Famer, with players like Tom Brady and others stunned that the coach with the second-most wins in history hadn’t already made his bust for the halls of Canton, Ohio. But some voters took into account the controversy that surrounded Belichick during his time in Foxborough, which included Spygate, and felt he was not yet worthy of the honor.
Since leaving the NFL, many have wondered if Belichick would ever surpass Shula’s win total. That question remained even after he accepted the vacant 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 see his role with the Tar Heels in his second season despite whispers that he would fill NFL head coaching vacancies after the 2025 season.
North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick greets a recruit on the sidelines before an NCAA college football game against Stanford, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
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For now, Belichick is content to lead the way in Chapel Hill, while Payton aims to lead the Broncos back to the Super Bowl in 2026.
