{
  "id": 17850046,
  "title": "Bill Belichick nearly became UConn coach, now returns with UNC football",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/bill-belichick-nearly-became-uconn-coach-now-returns-with-unc-football",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-02T20:19:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bill-belichick-nearly-became-uconn-201949440.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bill Belichick, the legendary head coach of the New England Patriots, had a near miss at coaching UConn in 1983. Almost 51 years to the day, Belichick will return to Connecticut for a game against the Huskies. Belichick, a 1975 Wesleyan University graduate, had a three-sport college career before starting his coaching career with the Baltimore Colts in 1975. He went on to help the New York Giants win two Super Bowl titles and lead the Patriots to six championships. Despite his impressive coaching resume, he was almost hired as UConn's head coach in 1983, but the position went to offensive line coach Tom Jackson instead. Belichick, who remains connected to his Connecticut roots, will be cheering on the Tar Heels against UConn on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2023.",
  "summary": "Bill Belichick's return to Connecticut with UNC comes with a little-known connection that could have changed football history.",
  "key_points": [
    "Bill Belichick nearly coached UConn in 1983.",
    "Belichick returns to Connecticut on Nov 7, 2023.",
    "Belichick a 3-sport college athlete at Wesleyan."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}