Legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka dead at 86
Posted October 9, 2026 9:36 am.
The NFL has lost one of its most famous coaches.
Legendary Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has died at age 86, his family announced Friday.
Ditka coached the Bears from 1982-92, highlighted by the team’s win in the Super Bowl for the 1985 season.
Ditka later coached the New Orleans Saints from 1997-99.
Prior to coaching, Ditka was a star tight end for the Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.
Ditka was the first tight end to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with the honour coming in 1988.
Ditka’s 1985 Bears team is an iconic squad.
Led by Walter Payton, William (the Refrigerator) Perry, Mike Singletary and Richard Dent, the Bears went 15-1 in the regular season and crushed the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl.
The Bears also produced a memorable song, “The Super Bowl Shuffle”, that made it into the US Billboard Hot 100.
