Sean Payton has a history of thinking big. Two years ago, he reportedly considered asking Broncos ownership to temporarily hire Bill Belichick as head coach just so Belichick could chase Don Shula’s all-time wins record. The plan was wild: Payton would step down to assistant head coach, Belichick would coach the team until he got those 15 wins, then Payton would take back over. It didn’t happen. Too complicated, they decided.
Now Payton is focused on a different kind of shakeup. And this one might actually become real.
In an interview with SportsBoom.com’s Jason La Canfora, the Broncos head coach and NFL Competition Committee member predicted the league will move to live broadcast booth reviews within the next two to three years. That’s the model the UFL uses, where fans watching at home can hear what the replay officials are saying in real time as they make their calls.
Payton is pushing for it hard. He said he wants the whole process out in the open, especially now that legal sports betting is everywhere and fans are questioning every flag that gets picked up or thrown late. Mic’ing up the replay officials, letting people hear the conversations, that’s the goal.
“I think Dean Blandino and his crew, when we kick live right to the booth review, that’s healthy,” Payton told La Canfora. He added that the idea has strong internal support around the league. “I think a number of people feel the same way.”
It’s not hard to see why. Between the conspiracy theories, the bad beats, and the general distrust of officiating, the NFL has a credibility problem that keeps getting worse. Payton thinks showing the sausage getting made could help. Let fans hear the refs talk through the angles, the evidence, the rules. Make it feel human instead of handing down a verdict from behind a curtain.
The Competition Committee hasn’t voted on it yet. But Payton sounds confident enough to put a timeline on it. That’s notable coming from a guy who has been around league politics for two decades.
Meanwhile, his coaching staff is getting national love for different reasons. Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano recently ranked Denver’s coordinator duo as the best in the NFL heading into the 2026 season. That’s a direct reflection of Davis Webb, who was promoted internally to offensive coordinator this offseason. Manzano called Webb the league’s next premier offensive mind and said Payton trusting him with full play-calling duties signals that Webb is on a fast track to a head coaching job by 2027.
Whether the league listens to Payton on the replay transparency stuff or not, he’s clearly thinking about the long game. On the field and off it.
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