Super Bowl-winning player and coach Ditka dies aged 86 — SkimNews
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- Mike Ditka died at 86, with his family confirming the news in a statement that gave no cause of death and remembered him as "the heart of our family."
- Ditka was the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 12-year playing career totaling 427 receptions, 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns, retiring after the 1972 season.
- Ditka scored the final touchdown in the Dallas Cowboys' 24-3 win over the Miami Dolphins to deliver the franchise its first Super Bowl title in 1972, after six seasons with the Chicago Bears and a stint with the Philadelphia Eagles.
- Ditka became Bears head coach in 1982 and led Chicago to a 15-1 regular season in 1985-86 before winning Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots.
- The Chicago Bears issued a statement calling Ditka's impact across decades as player, coach and ambassador "immeasurable" and crediting him with establishing "world-class" excellence for the franchise.
- Jarrett Payton, son of Hall of Fame Bears running back Walter Payton, paid tribute on social media calling Ditka "Da Coach" and "the heartbeat of the '85 Bears."
Why it matters: Ditka's death removes one of the last living anchors of the 1985 Bears, a 15-1 squad still regarded as one of the NFL's most dominant rosters, and a figure whose rare double — Super Bowl rings as both a player (Cowboys, 1972) and a head coach (Bears, 1986) — places him in a tiny club in league history. For the Bears franchise and the NFL's broader cultural memory, the loss severs a direct link to the hard-nosed, larger-than-life image that defined an era of professional football.
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