Bill Belichick almost had his first signature win at North Carolina.

In a tumultuous first season with the Tar Heels, he nearly produced a tangible sign of progress.

But despite taking No. 16 Virginia to overtime and despite an aggressive call for a two-point conversion that could’ve won the game, the Cavaliers stopped running back Benjamin Hall just inches from the goal line to escape with a 17-16 victory in Chapel Hill on Saturday.

It would’ve marked Belichick’s first overtime win since the AFC Championship game in 2018 while he was the head coach of the Patriots, according to the ACC Network broadcast.

Instead, his gutsy call ended in heartbreak.

“Trying to win the game,” Belichick told reporters of his decision. “I don’t know what else you want me to tell you.”

Virginia possessed the ball first in overtime, converted a key third-and-7 to extend the drive and eventually scored when J’Mari Taylor scored from one yard out.

Then, the Tar Heels converted a first down, and when facing a third-and-7 from the Virginia 9-yard line, Davion Gause caught a pass from Gio Lopez and raced into the end zone to pull UNC within one.

That’s when Belichick took one of his biggest on-field risks since landing the UNC job, keeping the offense on the field instead of kicking the extra point to tie the game and forcing another round of drives in overtime.

It marked a second consecutive crushing loss for the Tar Heels after Nathan Leacock fumbled near the goal line last week and cost UNC a potential go-ahead touchdown in their three-point loss to Cal.

And it would’ve added a brief moment of stability for a North Carolina program that has encountered anything but that since hiring Belichick — with the legendary NFL coach and his girlfriend, Jordan Hudson, generating plenty of off-field storylines.

There was the scene of Kenan Memorial Stadium starting to empty before halftime during a blowout loss to Clemson.

There was the scene last week at Cal, too, when the Bears mocked the Tar Heels on the videoboard with a pair of fake statements — a jab at the ones UNC needed to release last week amid reports of “potential exit strategy discussions” already taking place.

“Coach Belichick has the full support of the Department of Athletics and University,” director of athletics Bubba Cunningham said in the statement, while the 73-year-old Belichick said that he’s also “fully committed to UNC Football and the program we’re building there.”

Just weeks later, he nearly had a breakthrough.

It wouldn’t have meant that the Tar Heels would go on to make a bowl game.

They haven’t resembled anything close to the potential national contender they were supposed to be under Belichick, either.

But it would’ve been a start, and instead, the Tar Heels dropped to 2-5 and remain winless in Atlantic Coast Conference play entering a game against Syracuse on Friday.