Broncos’ Sean Payton hopes to see Bill Belichick back in NFL: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised’

Sean Payton is happy and unsurprised to see Bill Belichick move forward as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame s class in the coaching category He s just not entirely sold on the notion that Belichick is done coaching in the NFL I ll be honest with you I miss him not being in the league Payton disclosed Wednesday the same day Belichick moved to the Hall s doorstep I miss him not being in the league and I wouldn t be surprised and I would be somewhat hopeful that he ends up back in the league We d all be better for it He s somethin Belichick of unit is a six-time Super Bowl champion in New England and just finished his first season as the head coach at the University of North Carolina Belichick got the nod over former Broncos coaches Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves former Seattle and Green Bay head coach Mike Holmgren and several others I didn t realize that coaches didn t have to wait five years Payton stated There s a limited planes right out here on the runway One of them is Belichick the other one s Shanahan There s Holmgren And it s just a matter of when they take off Shanahan has made it deep into the process each of the past four years but has not yet been advanced as a finalist for consideration by the full Hall of Fame committee Last year a blue ribbon committee selected Holmgren as its coaching finalist but Holmgren did not get enough advocacy from the full body for enshrinement Payton has often called a week-plus coaching the NFC Pro Bowl squad after his first year as a head coach a formative experience because Belichick was coaching the AFC unit and he had a chance to pick the veteran s brain Related Articles Broncos excited about WR Elijah Moore He s a great athlete and great person Broncos NFL power rankings tracker How national experts rank Denver entering Week Broncos add veteran WR Elijah Moore to practice squad sources say Why Broncos Sean Payton have faith in rookie RB RJ Harvey despite lack of run-game efficiency Is current squad great like Broncos Or lucky like Kansas City Chiefs The timing was perfect Payton revealed I was in the NFC he was in the AFC and he was very gracious The pair hosted a series of joint practices over the years and Payton invariably thought highly of how Belichick s teams comported themselves Honestly if we at that time weren t paying attention to what they were doing in New England we looked closely at it Payton mentioned Smart tough reliable football players I d consider him a close coaching friend who s had an impact on how we look at building a roster Want more Broncos news Sign up for the Broncos Insider to get all our NFL analysis