Mike Ditka, a Hall of Fame tight end and the coach of the Chicago Bears’ only Super Bowl championship team, has died at age 86, his family announced Friday.
Ditka’s long list of accomplishments includes being a member of the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, the 1961 NFL Offensive Player of the Year and a two-time NFL Coach of the Year. The first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, No. Ditka’s 89 has been stopped by the Bears.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Mike Ditka,” his family said in a statement. “While the world knows Mike as the Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach, and leader of the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl XX championship team, we know him as the heart of our family.
“Mike will be missed immeasurably and remembered forever.”
Ditka was raised in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, the same area that produced fellow Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett, Ty Law and Darrelle Revis. He went to the University of Pittsburgh, aspiring to be a dentist. It quickly became clear, however, that football would become Ditka’s chosen profession.
Following a decorated college career (he averaged a whopping 24.3 yards per catch at Pitt), Ditka was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft. That season, he became the first tight end in NFL history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards.
Ditka led the Bears to the 1963 NFL title and later helped the Cowboys win their first title at the end of the 1971 season. He caught a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach in Dallas’ 24-3 win over Miami in Super Bowl VI.
After retiring as a player, Ditka joined Tom Landry’s staff as the Cowboys’ special teams coach. He won a second Super Bowl in that role at the end of the 1977 season.
In 1982, Ditka returned to Chicago to coach the Bears. Just three years after landing the job, Ditka helped lead the Bears to an 18-1 record that culminated in a 46-10 win over the Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
In Chicago, Ditka enjoyed a successful (albeit sometimes volatile) relationship with legendary defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, architect of the Bears’ vaunted 46 defense. Fittingly, both men were carried off the field following Chicago’s victory over New England.
“The ’85 beers would not have been the ’85 beers without Buddy Bryan,” Ditka said in 2018 after Ryan’s passing. “We won the Super Bowl because of our defense. I mean, you’d have to be a fool to say otherwise. We had great players on offense, and Walter Payton and Willie Gault and some of the other guys we had, and we had a beautiful offensive line. But our defense is why we won.”
Ditka’s success as coach of the Bears made him an icon in the Windy City. He was often impersonated on Saturday Night Live, where he was affectionately referred to as “Da Coach.” Bears fans embraced his tough, gruff demeanor that fit the Chicago blue collar like a glove.
Ditka coached the Bears for 11 years before entering broadcasting in 1993. He briefly returned to the sideline with the Saints in 1997. His tenure in New Orleans is best remembered for the team’s trade of every 1999 NFL Draft pick to Washington in exchange for the No. 1 overall pick. The Saints used that pick to draft Ricky Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy Winner.
Ditka returned to broadcasting following his run in New Orleans (and in 2005, starred with Will Ferrell in the movie “Kicking and Screaming”) but kept a low profile in recent years. In 2020, he was in the Super Bowl as part of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.