Legendary Bears coach Mike Ditka has passed away at 86 years old.
Ditka famously led the Bears to the only Super Bowl in franchise history in 1986 led by the dominant 46 defense.
The team has lived on in Chicago and NFL lore — thanks to the cocky and outgoing personalities of the players — with the gruff Ditka leading the charge.
The news was initially broken by Jarrett Payton, the son of Bears legend Walter Payton, who starred on those dominant 1980s Bears teams.
“I just got a phone call that Mike Ditka has passed away,” Payton reported on 104.3 The Score’s “Haugh & Payton” in Chicago. “It’s hitting me because I was not expecting this phone call. We do not have the press release but it should be on the way.
“But it saddens me to give this information to the city of Chicago. Everyone knows how much coach means to me and my family and to the city and to the Chicago Bears.”
It is the second recent tragedy for the Super Bowl team with fullback Matt Suhey recently passing away.
Jarrett noted how much Ditka meant to him and his family after Walter died of liver disease in 1999.
“He has been nothing but an amazing person for my entire family but also somebody that always made sure I was OK, that our family was OK and always kept up with us,” Payton said as he fought back tears.
“Any time that we needed him, he was always there. This is a lot for me from everything that’s happened to Matt [Suhey] to this.”
Ditka, a Pennsylvania native, starred as a tight end for the Bears, Cowboys and Eagles before moving into coaching.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” Ditka’s family said in a statement, via Jarrett Payton on X.
“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.”
Ditka would also go on to coach the Saints.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
