Mike Ditka, Who Led 1985 Bears to Super Bowl Title, Dies at 86
Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who coached the 1985 Chicago Bears to the franchise's only Super Bowl title, died at age 86.
His family announced the death on Friday. No cause of death was immediately announced, according to The Guardian.
Ditka coached the Bears for 11 years. His defining season came in 1985, when Chicago rolled through the regular season and then won Super Bowl XX, the league's championship game. It remains the Bears' lone Super Bowl victory.
He belongs to a very small club. Ditka won a Super Bowl as both an NFL player and a coach. He is one of two people in league history to win a league title as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach.
As a player, Ditka helped change his position. Chicago took him with the fifth overall pick of the 1961 NFL draft, the annual selection of top college players. A tight end — a hybrid blocker and pass-catcher lined up at the end of the offensive line — he brought unusual speed and toughness to the spot.
He was part of the Bears' 1963 NFL championship team. He later joined the Dallas Cowboys team that won Super Bowl VI. In 1988, he became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
After Chicago, Ditka closed his coaching career with the New Orleans Saints in 1999. He also spent years as a television commentator after leaving the sideline, according to Yahoo Sports.
For fans, this means goodbye to a direct link to Chicago's last championship team. The 1985 Bears still set the standard in that city. Ditka was at the center of it.
