Mike Ditka Dies: NFL Legend & Football Analyst Was 86

Mike Ditka, a former NFL player and coach who worked as a sports analyst after retiring, has died at the age of 86. His family announced the news on October 9.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Mike Ditka,” the family’s statement 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.”

While a cause of death was not confirmed, Ditka previously had heart attacks in 1988 and 2018, as well as a minor stroke in 2012.

From 1961 to 1966, Ditka played for the Chicago Bears and was on their NFL Championship (now Super Bowl) team in 1963. From 1967 to 1968 he played for the Philadelphia Eagles, before being traded to the Dallas Cowboys, where he won another Super Bowl in 1972.

Ditka announced his retirement from football in 1973, and was hired as an assistant coach for the Cowboys that year. During his nine-year tenure as the team’s assistant coach, he added another Super Bowl ring to his archive. He then became the head coach of the Chicago Bears in 1982, and led the team to a Super Bowl win in 1986.

After being fired from the Bears in 1993 and working as an analyst for four years for NFL Live on NBC, Ditka returned to coaching with the New Orleans Saints in 1997. He was fired in 2000 after three losing seasons.

Once his tenure with the Saints was up, Ditka joined CBS Sports as an analyst for The NFL Today before moving over to become a commentator at ESPN.

At the time of his death, Ditka was married to his second wife, Diane Ditka. They were together for nearly 50 years, having tied the knot in 1977. Prior to that, he was married to his first wife, Marge, whom he shared four children with, from 1961 to 1973.