What would the NFL look like without the tandem of Bill Belichick and the Patriots?

A 1996 conversation between Belichick and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was resurfaced by The Athletic on Tuesday, dating back to when the now-six-time Super Bowl winning coach was looking for a job after being fired from coaching the Browns.

It was a time when the Cowboys were dominating the NFL, coming off of their third Super Bowl win in four seasons, defeating the Steelers in Super Bowl 30. While at a ski area over the winter, Jones said he ran into Belichick. The coach reminded Jones that he was looking for work.

“I can coach,” Belichick reportedly told him. “If you ever get an opportunity, don’t forget about me.”

“I’ve thought about that many times,” Jones told The Athletic. “You never know where you can find a great coach. You can find them in a ski checkout line sometimes.”

When Belichick was asked about the story at his Patriots media availability Wednesday, it didn’t quite strike his memory.

“Yeah, I saw that,” Belichick said. “I don’t know if I quite remember it the way Jerry described it, but he’s probably got a better memory than I do.”

Of course, things eventually worked out for Belichick, who eventually came to New England as the defensive coordinator under then-Patriots coach Bill Parcells. Dallas, on the other hand, went on to make two head coaching changes between 1998 and 2000. After a brief tenure with the Jets, Belichick officially became the Patriots head coach in 2000.

Jones will get a close up of what he missed out on when his Cowboys take on Belichick’s Pats on Sunday.