Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end and Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears coach known as Iron Mike and Da Coach, has died at 86.
Ditka’s family announced his death on Friday 9 October 2026 in a statement carried by AP News and NFL.com.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” the family said. “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.”
Player who changed the tight end
Born on 18 October 1939 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and raised in Aliquippa, Ditka starred at the University of Pittsburgh before the Bears took him fifth overall in the 1961 NFL Draft, the Pro Football Hall of Fame said.
He helped redefine the tight end as both a blocker and a downfield threat. In his rookie season he caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns, winning NFL Rookie of the Year, NFL.com reported. He was a 1963 NFL champion with Chicago, a five-time Pro Bowler, and in 1988 became the first tight end inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Across 12 NFL seasons with the Bears, Eagles and Cowboys he finished with 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns, per NFL.com. He also won Super Bowl VI as a Dallas player and Super Bowl XII as a Cowboys assistant under Tom Landry.
Da Coach and the 1985 Bears
Ditka returned to Chicago as head coach in 1982. His 1985 Bears went 15-1 in the regular season and crushed the New England Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX, one of the most famous seasons in NFL history. He was AP NFL Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1988 and coached Chicago through 1992, then the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999. His head-coaching record was 121-95, NFL.com said.
He and Tom Flores are the only people to win Super Bowls as a player, assistant coach and head coach, the Hall of Fame noted.
Tributes from the NFL
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Ditka “epitomized football over so many years” and brought “intensity, authenticity and an unmistakable personality to everything he did,” according to AP. “As a Hall of Fame player, Super Bowl-winning coach with his beloved and iconic Bears, and as a broadcaster, Mike served as an ambassador for the game,” Goodell said.
The Bears said Ditka’s impact “over decades as a player, coach, and proud icon and ambassador for our organization, is immeasurable,” NFL.com reported. Hall of Fame president Jim Porter called him “Iron Mike” and said his captivating personality and leadership “will be preserved and celebrated forever in Canton.”
After coaching, Ditka worked as a broadcaster with NBC, CBS and ESPN and campaigned for better medical and retirement support for former players through the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.
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