When the Denver Broncos traded for Sean Payton, everything began to change for the better. Despite an 8-9 season in 2023, the franchise really did a total 180 from the prior season. In 2024, the team began to put themselves back on the map, though.
A 10-7 season that not many saw coming snapped one of the longest playoff-drought streaks in the NFL, and in 2025, the team got to the doorstep of the Super Bowl, and likely would have made it had Bo Nix not broken his ankle. For 2026, the expectation surely has to be 'Super Bowl or bust,' and while every team wants to win it all, there are only, truly, a handful of teams capable of doing just that.
Well, Payton himself has built one of the best head coaching careers of all-time, and over the next couple of seasons, he could truly cement himself as a slamdunk, all-time great.
Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton is nearing even more regular-season history
There is a ton of all-time history that Payton is approaching, and it could end up being a supreme motivator over the next two-ish seasons, if that's how long it takes. Let's start with regular season wins. Payton, right now, ranks 13th in wins with 184. This is how that list looks around where Payton stands:
8. Marty Schottenheimer - 200
9. Chuck Noll - 193
10. Mike Tomlin - 193
11. Dan Reeves - 190
12. Chuck Knox - 186
13. Sean Payton - 184
Payton and the Broncos would need to win all 17 games in the 2026 season for their head coach to grab sole possession of 8th all-time in wins. Going 17-0 isn't likely, but getting to that 200-win milestone would very likely come sometime during the beginning chunk of the 2027 season.
It'd be a massive shock if Payton didn't know where he stood in the all-time regular-season win ranks. Let's look at playoff wins this time:
7. John Harbaugh - 13
8. Mike Holmgren - 13
9. Tom Coughlin - 12
10. Bill Cowher - 10
11. Dan Reeves - 11
12. Mike McCarthy - 11
13. Pete Carroll - 11
14. Bill Parcells - 11
15. Marv Levy - 11
16. Sean Payton - 11
The playoff wins are a bit clearer. Payton could realistically win three playoff games in 2026 and rise to sole possession of 7th place, as no NFL head coach has exactly 14 postseason wins.
Three playoff wins would mean the Broncos either lost in the Super Bowl or won it entirely - no other option is possible. If the Broncos earned the top AFC playoff seed in 2026 and won three playoff games, they would be the champions.
If they were not the top seed and won three games, they would lose in the Super Bowl. The other major thing to note here is that Payton, with a Super Bowl victory with the Broncos, would become the first head coach in NFL history to win a Super Bowl with two different teams.
It's pretty obvious just how much all-time coaching history Payton has staring him right in the face. Getting to that 200-win mark in the regular season would likely force Payton to come back for at least two more seasons, but that would also give him two more seasons to try and win two Super Bowls.
With Payton handing off play-calling duties to Davis Webb, the offensive coordinator, one might fairly speculate that Payton can see the end being near. Sure, you could argue that Payton handing off play-calling duties would help extend his coaching career, but he's set to turn 63 in December, so he's not young anymore.
Add us as a preferred source on Google