Examining How Safe Shula's Record Was ... And Remains

We are now 31 years removed from Don Shula's last year as Miami Dolphins head coach, and his record for career victories still stands.

But in a truly wild anecdote as part of an ESPN profile on Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos, it could be that things might be different right now.

The story by writer Seth Wickersham includes a fascinating paragraph involving Bill Belichick that could have changed NFL history.

"When Belichick and the Patriots divorced in 2024, Payton considered presenting Broncos owner Greg Penner a proposal for the ages: Hire Belichick as head coach until he reached 15 wins, enough to break Don Shula's career record of 347. Payton would temporarily step down to assistant head coach and run the offense, then move back after Belichick became the all-time leader. In the end, it was too complicated -- and maybe too fanciful."

Denver went 10-7 and 14-3 the past two seasons when Belichick was out of the NFL, so even if the Broncos wouldn't have experienced the same kind of success without Payton in charge, it's safe to assume Shula no longer would have the record if Payton's idea had come to pass.

Exactly how close it came to actually happening isn't clear, but it most definitely would have been unique.

The Dolphins didn't face Denver the past two seasons, the teams' last meeting coming in the 2023 home opener at Hard Rock Stadium when Miami administered that historic 70-20 whooping.

REID REMAINS THE THREAT

As Belichick prepares for his second season as head coach at the University of North Carolina, it seems more and more likely that Payton idea might have been his last shot at catching Shula.

The focus, as it started being when the Patriots moved on from Belichick, is on Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs.

After the Chiefs tumbled to a 6-11 record following three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, Reid now finds himself with 307 career victories.

Quick math will tell us that 40 wins shy of Shula's record.

No other active coach has more than 194 wins — that total belongs to Payton.

The question with Reid, of course, is how long he'll continue coaching. He turned 68 in March, making him three years older than Shula was during his final season with the Dolphins in 1995.

Unless the Chiefs quickly rebound and become Super Bowl contenders again for another three-year run, it will be borderline impossible for Reid to catch Shula within the next three years. Even averaging 10 wins a season is a challenge, but if Reid is able to accomplish that, he'll still be 71 at the start of the 2029.

This is where we point out that Belichick was 71 during his final year with the Patriots.

So we could be looking at a race against time for Reid in his pursuit of Shula.

One of the biggest ones is that Belichick's five-year contract pretty much ends his pursuit of the NFL career victories record belonging to Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame coach Don Shula.

For those looking for those comparisons, Shula had a .677 winning percentage in the regular season and .528 in the playoffs in his 33 NFL seasons; Reid is at .640 in the regular season and .622 in the playoffs; and Belichick is at .647 in the regular season and .705 in the playoffs.

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