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They don't make them like Ditka anymore — because they never really made them like Ditka in the first place.
Mike Ditka died today at 86, his family announced, and with him goes one of the last living links to football's golden age of larger-than-life figures. As a player, he revolutionized the tight end position — the fifth overall pick in 1961, the first tight end to crack 1,000 receiving yards in a season, a five-time Pro Bowler, and eventually the first tight end enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But "Da Coach" is how the world knew him. Hired by George Halas in 1982, Ditka built the 1985 Chicago Bears into arguably the most dominant — and definitely the most entertaining — team in NFL history: 15-1, a 46-10 demolition of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, a defense for the ages, and the Super Bowl Shuffle. Two-time Coach of the Year. The sweater vest, the mustache, the sideline scowl that could melt steel.
Off the field he was Chicago royalty: restaurants, cigars, TV, and opinions nobody asked for but everybody quoted. Even this week, the "Ditka juice box" meme from his Kicking & Screaming cameo was surging again — proof the culture never forgot him.
No cause of death was announced. Rest easy, Coach.
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