Sean Payton says Mike Shanahan ‘needs to be’ in Hall of Fame

Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan took the next step toward the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week and current orange and blue leader Sean Payton came out strong, backing the legend.

Both Shanahan and fellow former Broncos head man Dan Reeves were among the 12 former coaches who advanced to the next stage of the 2026 selection process for the Hall of Fame. The list will be narrowed down to nine in the near future before the committee lands on one coaching finalist for the 2026 class.

“He should be in, he’s going to get in, and he needs to get in sooner than later,” Payton said of  Shanahan. “Two championships, the coaching tree, the history as a coordinator, then as a head coach. And I think I don’t even want to compare him against others that are in or candidates to be in, but his impact beyond just two Super Bowls, his impact on the game, and offensively, having played against his teams, you know, it’s time (for him to get in.)”

Shanahan led the Broncos through some of the best years in franchise history from 1995 to 2008. He won back-to-back Super Bowls with the orange and blue (1997, 1998) and has coached more games as the Broncos’ head coach than anyone (224). His 138 regular-season wins and eight playoff wins are both the top marks in franchise history. He is also well-known for his being the start of the Shanahan coaching tree, a group of some of the best coaches in modern football that features Gary Kubiak, the head coach for the 2015 Broncos squad that won Super Bowl 50.

Reeves doesn’t have the two Super Bowls that Shanahan has, but is still one of the most influential coaches in franchise history. In his time with the orange and blue (1981-1992), he won 110 regular-season games and seven playoff games, both of which are the second-best marks in franchise history behind Shanahan. He led the organization to three AFC titles (1986, 1987, 1989) but was never able to capture that elusive Lombardi Trophy. He was also named as the UPI AFC Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1991.

Reeves passed away from dementia-related complications in 2022. He was 77 years old.

Both legendary coaches are already members of the Broncos Ring of Fame.

Another Denver coach, Alex Gibbs, also made the cut for the Final 12. He was an assistant coach who worked with the offensive line who spent 14 years with the Broncos in three different stints, two of which were the Super Bowl years in the late 1990s.

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