CHAPEL HILL — Bill Belichick could have been a college football coach in 1983. 

It’s been 51 years since Belichick left Connecticut to pursue a coaching career, getting his start with the Baltimore Colts in 1975 to kick off a journey that would last nearly 50 years. 

Before he helped the New York Giants win Super Bowl titles in 1986 and 1990 as a defensive coordinator and before he led the New England Patriots to six championships as a head coach, Belichick was almost the coach of the Huskies. 

UConn, which hosts Belichick and UNC football on Saturday, Nov. 7, has that interesting fact listed on its official athletics website. In 1983, Belichick applied to be UConn’s football coach while he was serving as a linebackers and special teams coach for Bill Parcells in New York. 

Ultimately, the Huskies decided to promote offensive line coach Tom Jackson, who had a 62-57 record across 11 seasons in Storrs. 

“Kind of always followed that program,” Belichick said Monday, Nov. 2, during his weekly press conference inside the Kenan Football Center. 

“I was in consideration to be the head coach there at one point, so did have an interest in coaching there, as well.”

The rest, as they say, is history. 

Now, 51 years since Belichick graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown – which is roughly 20 miles from UConn’s Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field – the 74-year-old coach will have a homecoming of sorts when the Tar Heels (4-4, 2-3 ACC) play the Huskies (4-4). 

A 1975 graduate of Wesleyan, Belichick played football, lacrosse and squash before earning a degree in economics. He was inducted into the athletics hall of fame in 2008, received an honorary doctorate and was awarded the Baldwin Medal, the school’s highest alumni honor.

“Spent a lot of time in Connecticut in college, of course,” Belichick said. 

The state’s connections run throughout the Belichick family. UNC defensive backs and safeties coach Brian Belichick, the Tar Heels’ defensive coordinator this season, graduated from Suffield Academy in 2011 and Trinity College in 2016. 

Holy Cross women’s lacrosse coach Amanda Belichick followed the path of her father, graduating from Wesleyan in 2007. 

“There was other travel time back there, but most of mine was in New England and the Boston area,” Belichick said. “Connecticut’s one of the first schools besides Navy that I really took an interest in.” 

Belichick’s appreciation for UConn stretches beyond his coaching candidacy.

Known for his knowledge and appreciation of football history, Belichick referenced former coach Rick Forzano, who gave Belichick his first full-time NFL job in 1976 with the Detroit Lions as a special-teams assistant, and then as a wide receivers and tight ends coach. 

Forzano coached at UConn and Navy, where he was an assistant and colleague of Belichick’s father, Steve. Belichick also mentioned Lou Holtz and Dan Sekanovich, who spent time with the Huskies. 

“They had a lot of really good coaching staff there,” Belichick said. 

Saturday’s game will take place less than 90 miles from Foxborough, Mass., where Belichick became synonymous with the Pats and his trademark cut-off hoodies. As of Monday, the weather forecast for the game between the Tar Heels and Huskies calls for a high of 65 degrees and a 50% chance of rain. 

“Might need to put on a warmer jacket,” Belichick said. “Been pretty nice down here, looks like we got another nice week of practice.” 

Still, despite his history with Connecticut and the memories of his time there, Belichick is focused on helping the Tar Heels snap a two-game losing streak. 

“But again, it’s not about me, it’s not about Connecticut,” Belichick said. 

“It’s about our team matching up against UConn and that’s really what we need to focus on. But, yeah, I’m sure I’ll see a few people there that I haven’t seen in awhile.”