Bill Belichick had the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes coming to Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill on Halloween night, but a trick-or-treat clip featuring the North Carolina Tar Heels head coach stole the show first.

One fan posted the video Saturday evening, and a Hurricanes fan named Daniel couldn’t help but point out how different Belichick looked compared to the trademark serious demeanor he had during his 24 years with the New England Patriots.

A Halloween Clip of Bill Belichick Draws a New England Comparison

Halloween handed Belichick’s UNC team a tall order in a prime-time game on ABC. Miami arrived 7-0, sitting first in the ACC and as one of three unbeaten teams in the country. Still, Belichick didn’t seem too bothered by the pressure of the matchup and decided to enjoy the holiday that came with it.

The fan’s video post about the head coach went up about two hours before the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. It showed Belichick spotting a young fan standing with his parent and carrying a candy bag. He then walked over and handed the youngster a few sweets, all while flashing a rare smile.

Naturally, a Hurricanes fan couldn’t help but point out how much more relaxed Belichick seems to be at UNC compared to his time with the Patriots.

“You rarely saw this side of Belichick in New England,” Daniel remarked.

North Carolina entered Saturday’s game at 4-3, looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss to Syracuse the previous week. The Orange answered the Tar Heels’ overtime touchdown at Kenan Stadium with a touchdown of their own and a two-point conversion to escape with a 31-30 win.

Belichick Had His Halloween Moments in New England

While Belichick rarely showed that playful side during his time in New England, Patriots fans did get a few glimpses of it over the years. One came in 2009, when receiver Randy Moss invited Belichick to a Patriots Halloween party at a roller rink.

Belichick initially joked about what he might wear, asking, “Can I come dressed as the devil?”

Moss wasn’t having it. “You might win the [expletive] prize,” he fired back. After a little more persuasion, Belichick agreed to join the fun and even shared his thoughts on Halloween.

“It’s a great holiday. Candy and costumes, how can you beat that?” he said.

Belichick eventually showed up as a pirate, complete with a sword. Moss went with a SpongeBob SquarePants costume, while Vince Wilfork dressed as Fred Flintstone. Footage from the party later aired on NFL Network in September 2011 as part of the second installment of NFL Films’ “A Football Life” documentary on Belichick.

Reporters in Foxborough asked Belichick about the pirate costume the following day.

“There probably were some other options, but I was hoping nobody would recognize me in that one,” Belichick said with a smile.

Belichick also gave the party a positive review, crediting Moss for putting it together.

“It was a fun night. Randy did a good job of organizing that. I think everybody had a good time. It was a good team-building exercise.”

Halloween came up again in 2021, when Belichick was still coaching the Patriots. Asked about his favorite candy on Oct. 29, he kept things simple: “Anything that’s in the bag. I won’t turn down much.”

A follow-up question about trick-or-treaters dressing up as him brought back another memory. “With the headset and all that. I did see that. That was a few years ago,” he recalled.

The costume was easy enough to recognize. A headset, sleeveless sweatshirt, sweatpants and sneakers made up the familiar Belichick sideline look, and young fans had started copying it for Halloween.

That year, the Patriots spent Halloween weekend on the road for a Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Five years later, Belichick finds himself in Chapel Hill, handing out candy to young Tar Heels fans before facing the top-ranked team in the country. Time really does fly.