Mike Ditka, Hall of Famer and Chicago Bears legend, dies at 86
Mike Ditka, a three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL Coach of the Year, died on Friday, Oct. 9, his family announced. He was 86.
Though best known as coach of the 1985 champion Chicago Bears, Ditka also revolutionized the tight end position after being drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh in 1961.
The news of Ditka's death was shared on social media by Jarrett Payton, son of Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, who played for Ditka in Chicago.
"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka," the family said in a statement shared by Payton. "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."
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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
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October 09, 2026, 12:47 PM
SpinZone
He owned a restaurant in downtown Chicago that had a cigar bar on the top floor. He would hang out there sometimes and was very approachable.
“We truly live in a wondrous age of stupid.” - 83v45magna
"I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally." -Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management
October 09, 2026, 12:54 PM
snoris
"Okay---who wins---God---or Ditka?"
"God...but it's close."
Godspeed, Big Mike.
October 09, 2026, 01:01 PM
chellim1
I can't help but think of the SNL skits...
Bill Swerski’s Superfans: Bears vs. Giants - SNL
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." -- Justice Janice Rogers Brown
"The United States government is the largest criminal enterprise on earth." -rduckwor
October 09, 2026, 02:12 PM
armored
After Ditka left the Bears I stopped watching or supporting the Bears or the NFL. RIP Mike!
October 09, 2026, 02:26 PM
HRK
Da Bears!,, RIP Coach Ditka, he was one of the greats...
October 09, 2026, 02:29 PM
k5blazer
His 1985 Bears were something else. What a great player, coach, and individual.
October 09, 2026, 04:30 PM
Slippery Pete
“Ditka,,,,, vs a Hurricane………….
HOLD ON, HOLD ON,,,, The Hurricane’s name is Ditka.”