UConn coach Jim Mora made a move that would make Bill Belichick proud while preparing the Huskies to play in his old backyard against the notoriously surly former New England Patriots’ next team.

Mora and his players were more than 45 minutes late for their scheduled 30-minute media availability a day before Saturday’s Fenway Bowl against North Carolina. Mora then didn’t apologize, true to Belichick’s example.

“We practice at a certain time the day before a game,” Mora said. “And we stuck to the script.”

Belichick, who along with Tom Brady won six Super Bowls in New England, was fired after going 4-13 in 2023, leaving him just 14 wins shy of tying Don Shula’s record for NFL wins. Unable to find a pro job at age 72, Belichick signed with North Carolina — his first college gig — when they released 73-year-old Mack Brown.

Belichick has not yet taken over the Tar Heels’ sideline; Interim coach Freddie Kitchens – another former Cleveland Browns coach – will lead them in the Fenway Bowl.

The biggest story leading up to Saturday’s game, however, was the future Hall of Famer’s possible return to a football field in Boston.

Belichick did not attend media day, and Fenway Bowl general manager Brett Miller tried to preempt questions about him by asking reporters to keep the questions focused on the players and coaches out here.

“I don’t need to beat around the bush anymore,” he said in comments that would have been cryptic if it hadn’t been so clear to everyone who he meant. “I know you probably have a lot of questions about next year, especially about one site. Please do your best to give it to these guys because they have earned the right to be here.”

The request wasn’t entirely successful, as Kitchens answered a question specifically about Belichick, saying he speaks with his new boss every day. Earlier this month, Kitchens said: “He asks questions; I’ll answer the questions.”

“I’m going to try to absorb everything I can from him and become a better coach because of it,” Kitchens said after Belichick was hired. “I love Carolina, I want what’s best for Carolina, and I know Coach Belichick is what’s best for Carolina right now and in this moment.”

“At the end of the day, he’s a ball coach,” he said, “and I enjoy working for ball coaches.”

Mora also dismissed questions about whether the next Carolina coach would have any influence on Saturday’s game.

“It’s irrelevant to us,” said Mora, who went 0-1 against Belichick in four seasons as an NFL head coach. “We can’t control the emotions of our opponents.” And as far as I know, Coach Belichick won’t be on the football field on Saturday, so that’s not relevant to this football team in our preparation.

How they got here

North Carolina (6-6) will be playing in a bowl for the sixth straight year, the second-longest streak in program history.

The Tar Heels climbed the ranks in Larry Fedora’s final years after back-to-back nine-loss seasons and finished in The Associated’s top 25 in the previous four seasons under Brown, who also coached them in one of their winningest eras from 1988 to 1997 in Carolina football history.

After starting 3-0 this year, the Tar Heels lost four straight – including a 70-50 loss to Sun Belt Conference team James Madison. They won three more to qualify for the bowl before Brown’s fate was sealed by a loss to Boston College, and a season-ending loss to rival NC State.

UConn is making its second bowl game in three seasons under Jim Mora, rebounding from last year’s 3-9 record and posting its first eight-win season since Randy Edsall led the Huskies to the Fiesta Bowl in 2010.

As an independent, UConn won all games against non-Power 4 conferences and lost to Syracuse, Wake Forest and Duke of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Maryland of the Big Ten.

Fenway Bowl History

Miller said the bowl, which has struggled to gain traction in a city more focused on the success of its professional sports teams, sold more tickets this year than in its first two years.

The Belichick perspective is certainly part of it, but the game has also had some good success in picking teams, namely Louisville in 2022 – the year before the Cardinals climbed into The Associated Press top 10 – and then SMU last Year, one season before The Mustangs reached the College Football Playoff.

“Could one of these teams be next,” Miller said. “We’ll see.”