Mike Ditka, one of the most recognizable names in pro football and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, has died at 86.
Ditka’s place in the sport was built over decades, first as a standout tight end and later as a hard-driving head coach whose name became closely tied to the Chicago Bears. He also spent three seasons leading the New Orleans Saints.
His biggest coaching triumph came in 1985, when he guided the Bears to a 15-1 regular-season mark and a Super Bowl XX win over the New England Patriots. That team’s dominant defense and Ditka’s forceful personality helped turn Chicago into one of the defining stories in NFL history.
Long before he was pacing the sideline, Ditka had already established himself as one of the league’s top tight ends. The Bears selected him in the first round, fifth overall, in the 1961 NFL Draft, and he went on to play 12 seasons with Chicago, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys.
Ditka spent 11 seasons as Bears head coach from 1982-92 before the Saints brought him back to the sideline in 1997. New Orleans hoped the Hall of Famer could deliver the kind of success he had enjoyed in Chicago.
That never happened. The Saints went 6-10 in both 1997 and 1998, then dropped to 3-13 in 1999.
Ditka finished 15-33 in New Orleans and did not take the team to the playoffs. After that season, he and the Saints went their separate ways, and his coaching run was over.
Even with the rough ending in New Orleans, Ditka’s coaching résumé remained substantial. He finished his 14-year head coaching career with a 121-95 regular-season record, including 106 wins with the Bears.
He was also part of a rare class in NFL history, winning championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Ditka was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986, and in 1988 he became the first tight end to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Known everywhere as “Iron Mike,” Ditka leaves behind a major imprint on the NFL as both a player and a coach.
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