Legendary NFL tight end, three-time Super Bowl winner and former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka has died at the age of 86. No cause of death has been made public.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Mike Ditka,” his family shared in a Friday statement. “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,” they concluded.
One of American football’s most iconic, groundbreaking and eclectic personalities, Ditka is best known for coaching the 1985 Chicago Bears. At the helm of that team’s legendary, potentially best-ever NFL defense, Ditka led the ’85 Bears to the beloved NFL franchise’s only Super Bowl championship to date. They finished the regular season that year with a 15-1 record and handily beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX 46-10.
During his coaching tenure, which lasted from 1982 through 1992, Ditka led the Bears to seven playoff appearances and the NFL Championship game three times.
He was hired to the position by Bears founder and his former coach, George Halas, following Ditka’s nine-year run as an assistant head coach and special teams coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. He won his second Super Bowl in 1978 as a member of the Cowboys coaching staff when the team defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10 at Super Bowl XII.
Before his coaching career, Ditka played in the NFL for 13 years. He was drafted by the Bears as the fifth overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft. He went on to become the first tight end in NFL history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in just his rookie season. He won Rookie of the Year following the 1961 season and went on to play for the Bears for six years. He later played for the Philadelphia Eagles for two years and finished his playing career with a four-year run on the Dallas Cowboys.
Born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Ditka won his first Super Bowl in 1972 when the Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24-3 at Super Bowl VI. After his playing career concluded, Ditka became the first tight end to be welcomed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hall in 1988. His jersey number, 89, was retired by the Bears in 2013.
After he retired from coaching, Ditka went on to have a prolific media and business career. He opened several restaurants, appeared in numerous commercials and even turned in memorable film and television performances, including in Will Ferrell’s 2005 sports comedy, “Kicking and Screaming.” He also worked as an analyst at NBC and ESPN and was a permanent fixture on ESPN’s “Sunday Morning Countdown” from 2006 through 2015.
He suffered two heart attacks previously and had a minor stroke in 2012.
“‘Iron Mike’ brought an unrivaled level of toughness to an era already defined by physicality,” Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO Jim Porter said in a statement. “But he also was much more gifted as a pass catcher than many realized and became the ideal player for Coach George Halas to reimagine the tight end position. Mike brought competitiveness and a hard-nosed play style as he developed into both a fantastic blocker and someone who could punish would-be tacklers on his receptions.”
“He brought that same philosophy to his coaching, leading the famous 1985 team that paired with one of the most vaunted and dominant defenses in NFL history with a top-ranked offense,” Porter continued. “Mike’s captivating personality and leadership qualities will be preserved and celebrated forever in Canton.”
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