Mike Ditka, Legendary Chicago Bears Coach, Has Died at 86
Mike Ditka, the hard-nosed Hall of Famer who coached the Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl championship, has died. He was 86.
Ditka’s family announced his death on Friday, Oct. 9, according to People. “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” the family said in a statement. “Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever.”
A cause of death was not immediately released. Ditka had dealt with years of health issues, including heart attacks and strokes, according to Chicago sports radio station The Score.
Known as “Iron Mike” and, to generations of Chicagoans, simply “Da Coach,” Ditka held a rare distinction in NFL history: He won a championship as a player, as an assistant coach and as a head coach.
A Steel Country Upbringing
Ditka was born Michael Dyczko on Oct. 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. The son of a welder, he grew up in Aliquippa, a steel town outside Pittsburgh, where his toughness on the football field earned him the “Iron Mike” nickname that followed him for the rest of his life.
He went on to star at the University of Pittsburgh, where he led the team in receiving in each of his three varsity seasons and was a unanimous All-America selection in 1960.
Redefining the Tight End Position
The Bears drafted Ditka with the fifth overall pick in 1961, and he made an immediate impact. As a rookie, he became the first tight end in NFL history to top 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
Before Ditka, tight ends were mostly expected to block. He changed that, becoming a dangerous receiving threat who could also punish defenders after the catch. He helped the Bears win the 1963 NFL Championship, then later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys, where he won Super Bowl VI.
Over 12 seasons, Ditka totaled 427 catches for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns and was named to five Pro Bowls. In 1988, he became the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Letter That Brought Him Back to Chicago
After retiring as a player, Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach under Tom Landry in Dallas, where he won another Super Bowl. While there, he wrote a letter to Bears founder and owner George Halas, saying he wanted to come back to Chicago as head coach.
Halas, who had coached Ditka as a player, hired him in 1982.
The 1985 Bears
Ditka’s crowning achievement came in the 1985 season, when the Bears went 15-1 and dominated the NFL behind one of the greatest defenses the league has ever seen. The team capped the season with a 46-10 rout of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, and players famously carried Ditka off the field on their shoulders.
It remains the only Super Bowl title in Bears history.
The championship turned Ditka into a pop culture icon. His mustache, sunglasses and sideline intensity became instantly recognizable, and he was later immortalized in the “Bill Swerski’s Superfans” sketches on “Saturday Night Live,” in which a group of devoted Chicago fans worshipped “Da Coach.”
Ditka coached the Bears for 11 seasons, compiling a 112-68 record. He led the team to the playoffs seven times and was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1988. The Bears fired him in January 1993 after a losing season. He later coached the New Orleans Saints for three seasons, finishing his head coaching career with a 121-95 record.
A Chicago Icon
Even after his coaching days ended, Ditka remained one of Chicago’s most beloved figures, working as a TV analyst and opening a namesake restaurant in the city. Fans still dress up as Ditka at Bears games, complete with the sweater vest, aviators and mustache.
“Success isn’t permanent and failure isn’t fatal” was one of his best-known sayings, and it summed up the way he approached football and life.
He is survived by his wife, Diana, and his family.
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