Mike Ditka, who won NFL titles as a player and coach with the Chicago Bears, has died at 86, his family announced Friday.
"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. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever."
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. His 1985 Bears team featured one of football's most dominant defenses ever. 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.
After retiring as a coach, Ditka became a restaurateur, pitchman and TV personality, as well as an advocate for improved medical and retirement benefits for former players.
Ditka was tough and gruff, the quintessential Chicago Bear nicknamed "Da Coach". He did everything from order off the menu to knock defensive backs on their butts with a growl, and his adopted home town reveled in every minute. He 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.
He was born in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, the son of a welder who changed the family name from 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.
Selected fifth overall by flinty Chicago owner George Halas in the 1961 draft, Ditka went on to Rookie of the Year honors, multiple Pro Bowl trips and the 1963 NFL championship. He left Chicago in 1966, playing briefly for Philadelphia and Dallas. 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.
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 a new nickname – "Da Coach."
The public beefs with Ryan mirrored the behind-the-scenes battles Ditka waged trying to contain a team bristling with outsized personalities.
"It was more than a team," Ditka once said. "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. I wouldn't want to be one of these suits walking around on the sideline today. I have no desire to be that. I was what I was and they were what they were and, damn, it was fun."
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. His players never did.
"We call him 'Sybil' after that girl in the movie," quarterback Jim McMahon once explained. "You know, the one that had all those personalities. Mike will be calm one minute, then throw a clipboard the next. People don't understand that, but we do."
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 longsuffering running back.
Ryan departed for a head coaching job in Philadelphia soon after. 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.
After a five-year absence, he returned to coaching with the New Orleans Saints, but failed to revive the franchise. After a miserable 1999 season ended with a 3-13 record- his worst as either a player or coach – he left the sidelines for good.
His face and demeanor were so familiar by then that a second act became an easy segue. Ditka began building a stable of restaurants and appeared as himself in TV sitcoms from Cheers to Third Rock from the Sun, as well as shows such as LA Law and Saturday Night Live.
He also stayed close to the game as an NFL analyst and game-day show personality at ESPN. Ditka's high-profile status also made him an effective advocate to secure improved health and retirement benefits for former players.
His name also circulated for years in Illinois political circles. Though he never ran for office, Ditka described himself as a staunch conservative and was mentioned several times as a possible Republican candidate, including a congressional race against then state representative Barack Obama for the US Senate.