Sean Payton moved up a rung on the NFL’s all-time regular-season wins list with Denver’s season-opening victory over Tennessee on Sunday.
One of the coaches he moved past might be familiar in Broncos Country: Mike Shanahan.
Payton’s 171st regular-season win (152 in New Orleans and now 19 in Denver) lifted him past Shanahan and Tom Coughlin and into a tie for 17th all time.
Interestingly, Payton is tied with Pete Carroll, who also notched No. 171 on Sunday in his debut coaching for Las Vegas.
Payton will tie his foremost mentor in pro football, Bill Parcells, with one more win.
Monday, though, he recalled looking up to Shanahan as far back as his days playing for Eastern Illinois.
“He was the one guy that had made it out and made it to the NFL,” Payton said of his alma mater.
Now that Payton’s coaching in Denver, he sees Shanahan regularly.
“He’s been a tremendous, close friend and I would say confidant,” Payton said. “When I hear that, you don’t pay attention to it. Probably a week and a half ago or so in training camp (podcaster Kay Adams) brought up something like, ‘You’re three away from Parcells.’ And honestly, when I say this, I don’t know where that master list is, and it’s not something you look at it.
“But it does put into perspective how fortunate and how long the career’s been and how many good players I’ve been able to coach.”
There are four active coaches in the top 18 of the wins list, and three of them coach in the AFC West, with Andy Reid (No. 4 at 273) joining Carroll and Payton, who are one win behind Baltimore’s John Harbaugh (No. 172).
Payton also said this should be Shanahan’s year to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though this year is likely to be Bill Belichick’s turn from the coaching and contributor category.
“This year, next year, but very soon he’s going in the Hall of Fame and probably should have been in two or three years back,” Payton said. “But that’s coming, real quick.”
Payton is also hoping to hit another benchmark that his fellow Eastern Illinois grad accomplished in the 1990s.
“Let’s hope I have a chance to win a second Super Bowl like Mike Shanahan,” he said.
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Originally Published: September 8, 2025 at 11:26 AM MDT