Mike Ditka, Hall of Fame tight end and Bears Super Bowl coach, dies at 86

Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who became the most famous coach in Chicago Bears history, has died at 86. His family announced his death in a statement on Friday, Oct. 9.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka," the family said. "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."

The statement did not give a cause of death.

The news reached Chicago on the radio

Jarrett Payton, son of Bears running back Walter Payton, told listeners live on his Haugh & Payton show on 104.3 The Score. He said he had just gotten the phone call and that the press release had not yet arrived.

Payton struggled to finish. "Everybody knows how much coach means to me and to my family and to the city," he said. Co-host David Haugh stepped in to give him a moment.

Ditka was a comfort to the Payton family when Walter died of liver disease in 1999. The news also comes about a month after the death of Matt Suhey, Walter Payton's best friend and lead blocker, who died in his sleep over Labor Day weekend at 68.

The player

Michael Dyczko was born Oct. 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the steel town of Aliquippa. His father was a welder of Polish and Ukrainian descent, and the family changed the surname to Ditka.

He played football at the University of Pittsburgh, also played basketball and baseball there, and was a football All-American. The Bears took him fifth overall in the 1961 draft.

He changed the position. As a rookie he caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns, the first tight end to reach 1,000 receiving yards in his first season. He was named Rookie of the Year.

Over a 12-year career he played for the Bears (1961-66), the Philadelphia Eagles (1967-68) and the Dallas Cowboys (1969-72). He finished with 427 receptions, 5,812 yards, 43 touchdowns and five Pro Bowls. He won the 1963 NFL championship with Chicago and Super Bowl VI with Dallas.

The College Football Hall of Fame enshrined him in 1986. The Pro Football Hall of Fame followed in 1988, making him the first tight end inducted in Canton.

The coach

Bears founder George Halas gave Ditka his first head coaching job in 1982. He held it through 1992.

The 1985 team went 15-1, scored 456 points and allowed 198. It beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. The roster included quarterback Jim McMahon, Walter Payton and defensive lineman William "The Refrigerator" Perry.

Ditka also won Super Bowl XII as a Dallas assistant coach. That gave him a ring as a player, an assistant and a head coach. Only Tom Flores has matched that, and Flores won two titles as head coach of the Raiders.

"Iron Mike" was the steel-town nickname. "Da Coach" was the Chicago one. The mustache, aviators and sweater vest became a look fans copied for decades.

He was never shy about his politics. In a Fox News Insider clip, he said: "If you don't respect our country, then you shouldn't be in this country playing football."

Reaction

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called him an "ambassador for the game." Goodell also pointed to Ditka's work with the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, a nonprofit that helps retired players. "He brought intensity, authenticity, and an unmistakable personality to everything he did," Goodell said.

The Bears called his impact "immeasurable" and said he "created a lifetime of cherished memories in the hearts and minds of Bears fans that will last for generations."

Pro Football Hall of Fame President and CEO Jim Porter said Ditka "brought an unrivaled level of toughness to an era already defined by physicality." The Hall said the flag outside its museum in Canton will fly at half-staff.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote: "Da Coach was not only an icon in Chicago, but the entire football world."

Emery Moorehead, a tight end on the Super Bowl XX team, told CBS News Chicago that Ditka "had huge passion for the game." He added: "Everybody played at an emotional high every week because that's how coach felt."

Ryan Baker, a former CBS News Chicago sports anchor who interviewed Ditka often, described him as an "invincible character that you thought would live forever."

Beyond the sideline

Ditka became a pop-culture fixture. "Saturday Night Live" turned him into the punchline of the "Bill Swerski's Superfans" sketches, in which a group of Chicagoans chant "Ditka!" Ditka himself appeared on "Cheers," "L.A. Law" and "Entourage." He played himself in the Will Ferrell film "Kicking & Screaming," coaching a youth soccer team.

He remained a fan favorite long after leaving the sideline. A newly engaged couple recently went viral for kissing at a Bears game while both dressed as the coach.

The family has not announced funeral or memorial arrangements. Ditka would have turned 87 on Oct. 18.