Mike Ditka, legendary coach for Chicago Bears, dies at 86
by Brad Matthews · The Washington TimesMike Ditka, the title-winning tight end and coach for the Chicago Bears, died Friday at age 86.
Ditka’s family said in a statement that “it is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Mike Ditka. While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach and leader of the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever.”
Ditka’s family did not specify his cause of death.
People were interested in these podcasts
The Bears said in a statement that “Mike’s impact on the Chicago Bears organization, over decades as a player, coach, and proud icon and ambassador for our organization, is immeasurable. His integral role in bringing world championships to our city and our franchise, both as a player and as our coach, established prominence and excellence at a world-class level, but also created a lifetime of cherished memories in the hearts and minds of Bears fans that will last for generations.”
Ditka was named NFL Rookie of the Year by both United Press International and the Sporting News for 1961, according to Pro Football Reference, having caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns with the Bears.
Ditka then helped the Bears win the 1963 NFL Championship following a season in which he caught 59 passes for 794 yards and eight touchdowns. He left the Bears following the 1966 season and spent two years playing for the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Dallas Cowboys in the 1969 season.
As a Cowboy, Ditka was part of the 1971 team that won Super Bowl 6 against the Miami Dolphins, scoring a touchdown in the team’s 24-3 victory. Ditka finished his playing days after the 1972 season, at which point he joined the Cowboys coaching staff under Tom Landry.
Ditka worked as a special teams and wide receivers coach through the 1981 season and was on the staff when the team won its second title in Super Bowl 12 following the 1977 season.
Advertisement Advertisement
He would return to the Bears in 1982, becoming the team’s head coach. The Bears returned to the playoffs in 1984 after winning the NFC Central, making it as far as the NFC Championship Game where they were blanked 23-0 by the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.
In 1985, the Bears went 15-1 before going on a playoff run immortalized by the team’s “Super Bowl Shuffle,” capped off with a 46-10 drubbing of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 20, the team’s only Super Bowl title.
Ditka is the only person in the modern history of the NFL to win a title with the same team as player and then as a coach, in his case the 1963 NFL Championship and Super Bowl 20.
Ditka stayed on with the Bears through the 1992 season, finishing with a record of 106-62, after which he went into broadcasting for NBC.
He returned to coaching in 1997, joining the New Orleans Saints. He coached the team through the 1999 season.
Advertisement Advertisement
During the 1999 draft, Ditka made the infamous Ricky Williams trade, exchanging all six of the team’s 1999 draft picks and the first two picks the Saints had in the 2000 draft to the Washington Redskins to move up and select the University of Texas running back.
After being let go following the 1999 season, finishing with a Saints coaching record of 15-33, Ditka joined CBS as an analyst and made appearances later on ESPN.
Ditka is in both the College Football Hall of Fame, inducted in 1986 for his playing career as a tight end at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1988 in honor of his playing career with the Bears, Eagles and Cowboys.
Ditka was the first tight end to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was also the first to have won the Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He is one of only two people in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to have done so, along with Kansas City Chiefs player and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders coach Tom Flores.
Advertisement Advertisement
“‘Iron Mike’ brought an unrivaled level of toughness to an era already defined by physicality … He brought that same philosophy to his coaching, leading the famous 1985 team that paired one of the most vaunted and dominant defenses in NFL history with a top-ranked offense. Mike’s captivating personality and leadership qualities will be preserved and celebrated forever in Canton,” Pro Football Hall of Fame CEO Jim Porter said in a statement.
Contact the author
Brad Matthews
Follow author updates Follow Click to follow. Manage followed authors