Mike Ditka, Bears Super Bowl-winning coach and Hall of Fame tight end, dies at 86
Mike Ditka’s family announced his death on Oct. 9; no cause was immediately disclosed as football remembers his Bears career.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
2 min read
Mike Ditka dead at 86: the family of the Chicago Bears great announced his death on Oct. 9, 2026. No cause of death was immediately disclosed.
In a statement relayed by Jarrett Payton, the family remembered Ditka as a husband, father, grandfather and friend, alongside the football roles that made him famous: Hall of Fame player, coach and leader of the Bears’ Super Bowl XX champions.
The Chicago Bears confirmed the news, paying tribute to a figure whose connection to the team spanned his playing career, his years as head coach and later public appearances for the franchise.
What did Mike Ditka accomplish with the Chicago Bears?
Ditka won a league championship with the Bears twice in two very different jobs. As a tight end, he helped Chicago win the 1963 NFL title. More than two decades later, he coached the 1985 Bears to a 15-1 regular season and a 46-10 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, according to the Bears and Field Level Media.
The Bears say he is the only person of the modern NFL era to win a league championship with the same club as both a player and head coach. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1985 and again in 1988.
His Bears head-coaching stint ran from 1982 through 1992. He later returned to the NFL sidelines with the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999. NFL.com lists his 14-season career head-coaching record at 121-95.
Why was Ditka a Hall of Fame player?
Before he became known as “Da Coach,” Ditka was one of football’s defining early tight ends. Chicago selected him with the fifth overall pick of the 1961 draft, and he won NFL Rookie of the Year that season, according to the Bears.
He played 12 NFL seasons in all: six with Chicago, two with the Philadelphia Eagles and four with the Dallas Cowboys, NFL.com reported. He was also part of Dallas’ Super Bowl VI-winning team.
Ditka entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, becoming its first inducted tight end, according to the Bears. His football résumé also included a Super Bowl XII ring as a Cowboys assistant coach.
After coaching, Ditka worked as a television analyst for NBC, CBS and ESPN, the Bears said. But Chicago remained the centre of his NFL story, from the 1963 champions to the 1985 team that delivered the franchise’s only Super Bowl title.
The Bears and NFL.com reports announcing Ditka’s death did not provide further details. The family said he would be “missed beyond measure and remembered forever.”
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.