Mike Ditka, Bears Hall of Famer and Coach, Dies at 86

by Hannah / Oct 09, 2026 08:14 PM EDT

Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who coached the 1985 Chicago Bears to the franchise's only Super Bowl title, died Friday at 86, his family announced.

Jarrett Payton, the son of Bears running back Walter Payton, shared the news on Chicago's 104.3 The Score, and the family later released a statement. They said the world knew Ditka as a Hall of Fame player and the leader of the Bears' Super Bowl XX team, but that they knew him as "the heart of our family." The statement did not give a cause of death.

The Bears drafted Ditka fifth overall in 1961 out of Pittsburgh. He was Rookie of the Year that season and won the 1963 NFL championship under George Halas. Halas traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles after the 1966 season, and Ditka finished his playing career with the Dallas Cowboys, winning a Super Bowl with them after the 1971 season. He stayed in Dallas as an assistant under Tom Landry from 1973 to 1981, then returned to Chicago when Halas hired him as head coach in 1982.

The 1985 Bears beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX on Jan. 26, 1986, in New Orleans. Ditka coached Chicago for 11 seasons, going 106-62, and later coached the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999. His career record was 121-95.

He and Tom Flores are the only people to win NFL titles as a player, an assistant coach and a head coach, according to NFL.com. Ditka was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and became the first tight end in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

Outside football, he was part of American pop culture in a way few coaches have been. TMZ noted he starred in commercials and appeared in a recurring "Saturday Night Live" sketch in which George Wendt, Chris Farley, Mike Myers and Robert Smigel played Chicagoans talking up "Da Bears" at a bar table.

The Bears said in a statement that Ditka's impact on the organization, as a player, coach and ambassador, was "immeasurable." The NFL said it was deeply saddened by the death of the Hall of Fame coach and tight end. Tributes from the Chicago sports world followed on social media, including from former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, Yahoo Sports reported.

The Bears announced in 2013 that they would retire his No. 89, and said then that it would be the last number the team retires.