Mike Ditka, the legendary Chicago Bears coach who led the team to victory in Super Bowl XX, has died at 86, leaving behind an unforgettable NFL legacy. “Da Coach” was a cultural icon who transcended the sport during his over 55 years in the game.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” his family said in a statement, according to NBC Chicago. “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.”
“I just got a phone call that Mike Ditka has passed away,” Jarrett Payton, the son of Bears icon Walter Payton, said on his show on Friday. “It’s hitting me because I was not expecting this phone call. We do not have the press release but it should be on the way. But it saddens me to give this information to the city of Chicago. Everyone knows how much coach means to me and my family and to the city and to the Chicago Bears.”
Mike Ditka changed the way the game was played
As a player, Mike Ditka was named to the NFL 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams, won two NFL championships, was a five-time Pro Bowler, a two-time First-Team All-Pro, a three-time Second-Team All-Pro, and in 1988, became the first tight end to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Chicago Bears retired Ditka’s No. 89 jersey in 2013 during a ceremony in a game against the Cowboys.
Ditka, selected fifth overall in the 1961 NFL draft after earning first-team All-American honors at the University of Pittsburgh, spent six seasons with the Bears, two with the Philadelphia Eagles, and four with the Dallas Cowboys. During those years, he revolutionized the tight end position.
He set an NFL rookie tight end record with 1,076 receiving yards in his debut season. The Las Vegas Raiders’ Brock Bowers broke the record in 2024. He still holds the record for the most touchdown receptions by a rookie tight end in 1961. He ended his NFL career with 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns.
Mike Ditka led the Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl win
After retiring Mike Ditka was immediately hired as an assistant coach by Tom Landry of the Dallas Cowboys. Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with Dallas.
The Chicago Bears hired him to become the team’s new head coach for the 1982 season. By his third season, Ditka led the Bears to the NFC Championship Game. In 1985, Ditka led the Bears to a 15–1 record, and he was named NFL Coach of the Year, after the Bears won 46–10 over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
He finished his coaching career with the New Orleans Saints, finishing his coaching career with a 121-95 record.
Ditka became a legend to a whole new audience when he began broadcasting
Ditka joined CBS Sports after the Saints fired him, where he worked as a studio analyst on The NFL Today during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. It was Ditka’s second stint in broadcasting. After his dismissal from the Bears in 1993, he joined NBC as a color commentator on numerous programs and as an analyst on NFL Live. He later moved to ESPN, most notably working on Sunday NFL Countdown.