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He left Chicago in 1966, playing briefly for Philadelphia and Dallas. He moved to the sideline in 1973 as an assistant to the revered Tom Landry and stayed with the Cowboys for eight seasons, before returning to a hero’s welcome in Chicago as head coach in 1982.
Ditka’s return to the Bears lasted 10 tumultuous years, including five straight NFC Central titles, the Super Bowl win, a DUI conviction, a heart attack, a long-running feud with defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan and, finally, a new nickname — “Da Coach.”
To Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, the seeds of what was to come were planted in Ditka’s first meeting with the team. He laid out his vision, saying Chicago would be in the Super Bowl in three years — and many of the players in the room would not be around for it.
“When I first heard him when he walked in the room, to me Coach Ditka had the opportunity to be the greatest coach of all time because he had the fire,” Singletary said at the Bears’ 100th anniversary celebration in June 2019. “I don’t know George Halas coached. But I can imagine that the fire and intensity and passion that Coach Ditka exuded that first day set the tone for exactly what he said: ‘Three years from now, we’re going to be in the Super Bowl.’ And that was 1982. In ’85, we were there and it was because of that vision.”
The public beefs with Ryan mirrored the behind-the-scenes battles that Ditka waged trying to contain a team bristling with outsized personalities.
“It was more than a team,” Ditka once said. “It was a team of characters that had character that played for a crazy man, who let him be crazy and had fun doing it and don’t apologize for it ever. I wouldn’t want to be one of these suits walking around on the sideline today.
“I have no desire to be that. I was what I was and they were what they were and, damn, it was fun.”
It wasn’t until two dozen players recorded “The Super Bowl Shuffle” — an audacious rap-styled video released three months ahead of the 1986 title game — that the rest of the football world wondered whether Ditka was losing his grip.
His players never did.
“We call him ‘Sybil’ after that girl in the movie,” quarterback Jim McMahon once explained. “You know, the one that had all those personalities. Mike will be calm one minute, then throw a clipboard the next. People don’t understand that, but we do.”
The Bears demolished the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl, but Ditka often said he regretted having McMahon and defensive tackle William “The Refrigerator” Perry run for touchdowns instead of Walter Payton, Chicago’s loyal and long-suffering running back.
Ryan departed for a head coaching job in Philadelphia soon after. While the Bears continued to be a contender for most of the next five years, a 5-11 season prompted Ditka’s departure in 1992.
After a five-year absence, he returned to coaching with the New Orleans Saints, but failed to revive the franchise. After a miserable 1999 season ended with a 3-13 record — Ditka’s worst as either a player or coach — he left the sidelines for good.
His face and demeanor were so familiar by then that a second act became an easy segue. Ditka began building a stable of restaurants and appeared as himself in TV sitcoms from “Cheers” to “Third Rock from the Sun,” as well as shows such as “L.A. Law” and “Saturday Night Live.”
He also stayed close to the game as an NFL analyst and game-day show personality at ESPN. Ditka’s high-profile status also made him an effective advocate to secure improved health and retirement benefits for former players.
His name also circulated for years in Illinois political circles. Though he never ran for office, Ditka described himself as a staunch conservative and was mentioned several times as a possible Republican candidate, including a congressional race against then state Rep. Barack Obama for the U.S. Senate.
