Famed NFL coach Mike Ditka dead at 86
Led the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl title in 1985
Mike Ditka, who won NFL titles as a player and coach with the Chicago Bears, has died.
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who → fame → Bears
Ditka's family announced the death on Friday in a statement.
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family → announce → statement
"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka," The family said.
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family → announce → husband
"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.
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we → know → family
Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever."
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Mike → miss → measure
Nicknamed "Iron Mike" as a player, Ditka helped revolutionize the tight-end position, then moved to the sidelines and took over as Chicago's coach.
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Ditka → nickname → coach
His 1985 team featured one of the game's most dominant defenses ever.
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team → feature → defenses
It also had enough outsized personalities to record a rap video, "The Super Bowl Shuffle," and back up their boasting in the championship game three months later.
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It → have → game
After retiring as a coach, Ditka became a restaurateur, pitchman and TV personality, as well as a forceful advocate for improved medical and retirement benefits for former players.
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Ditka → retire → players
He did everything from order off the menu to knock defensive backs on their butts with a growl.
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He → do → growl
His adopted hometown revelled in every minute.
Still revered as "Da Coach" and ringmaster of the 1985 Bears, one of the most dominant and perhaps the zaniest Super Bowl-winning team in league history.
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hometown → adopt → history
Ditka was enshrined in the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame and the Bears said during a ceremony in 2013 that his "No. 89" jersey will be the last one retired by the team.
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jersey → enshrine → team
He was born in Carnegie, Penn., the son of a welder who changed the family name from Dyczko.
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who → bear → Dyczko
He grew up in nearby Aliquippa, close to the coal-mining and steel-manufacturing plants that dotted the western part of the state, a big, talented, three-sport athlete and All-American at Pitt whose bruising style made his first nickname, "Iron Mike," a good fit.
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nickname → grow → Pitt
Selected fifth overall by flinty Chicago owner George Halas in the 1961 draft, Ditka went on to Rookie of the Year honours, multiple Pro Bowl trips and the 1963 NFL Championship.
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Ditka → select → honours
In the bargain, he and Baltimore's John Mackey changed the tight end position and offensive schemes forever.
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he → change → position
He was a battering ram of a blocker, but Ditka was just as likely to catch a short pass and pinball through an entire secondary or outrace a lone safety on a deep touchdown throw.
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Ditka → catch → throw
He left Chicago in 1966, playing briefly for Philadelphia and Dallas.
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He → leave → Philadelphia
He moved to the sideline in 1973 as an assistant to the revered Tom Landry and stayed with the Cowboys for eight seasons, before returning to a hero's welcome in Chicago as head coach in 1982.
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He → move → 1982
Ditka's return to the Bears lasted 10 tumultuous years, including five straight NFC Central titles, the Super Bowl win, a DUI conviction, a heart attack, a long-running feud with defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and, finally, a new nickname — "Da Coach."
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return → last → Ryan
To Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, the seeds of what was to come were planted in Ditka's first meeting with the team.
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what → come → team
He laid out his vision, saying Chicago would be in the Super Bowl in three years — and many of the players in the room would not be around for it.
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many → lay → it
"When I first heard him when he walked in the room, to me Coach Ditka had the opportunity to be the greatest coach of all time because he had the fire," Singletary said at the Bears' 100th anniversary celebration in June 2019.
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Singletary → hear → June
"I don't know George Halas coached.
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Halas → know → ?
But I can imagine that the fire and intensity and passion that Coach Ditka exuded that first day set the tone for exactly what he said: `Three years from now, we're going to be in the Super Bowl.'
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we → imagine → Bowl
The public beefs with Ryan mirrored the behind-the-scenes battles that Ditka waged trying to contain a team bristling with outsized personalities.
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Ditka → mirror → personalities
"It was more than a team," Ditka once said.
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Ditka → say → team
"It was a team of characters that had character that played for a crazy man, who let him be crazy and had fun doing it and don't apologize for it ever.
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him → have → it
I wouldn't want to be one of these suits walking around on the sideline today.
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I → want → sideline
"I have no desire to be that.
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I → have → desire
It wasn't until two dozen players recorded "The Super Bowl Shuffle" — an audacious rap-styled video released three months ahead of the 1986 title game — that the rest of the football world wondered whether Ditka was losing his grip.
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Ditka → record → grip
His players never did.
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players → do → ?
"We call him 'Sybil' after that girl in the movie," quarterback Jim McMahon once explained.
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McMahon → call → movie
"You know, the one that had all those personalities.
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that → know → personalities
Mike will be calm one minute, then throw a clipboard the next.
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Mike → throw → clipboard
People don't understand that, but we do.
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we → understand → that
The Bears demolished the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl, but Ditka often said he regretted having McMahon and defensive tackle William "The Refrigerator" Perry run for touchdowns instead of Walter Payton, Chicago's loyal and long-suffering running back.
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McMahon → demolish → Payton
Ryan departed for a head coaching job in Philadelphia soon after.
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Ryan → depart → Philadelphia
While the Bears continued to be a contender for most of the next five years, a 5-11 season prompted Ditka's departure in 1992.
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season → continue → 1992
After a five-year absence, he returned to coaching with the New Orleans Saints, but failed to revive the franchise.
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he → return → franchise
…and 7 more, not listed.
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