On Friday, The Daily Caller posted an article about the death of former Chicago Bears Football Coach Mike Ditka. I will admit that I wasn’t overly fond of him in 1985 when the Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, but he was a fantastic coach. I loved the spirit of the 1985 team when they made a video of “The Superbowl Shuffle.”

The article reports:

Jarrett Payton, son of Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, announced his passing by sharing a statement on behalf of Ditka’s family.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I’m sharing the Ditka family has announced the passing of Mike Ditka this morning,” Payton wrote. “Da Coach. Hall of Famer. The heartbeat of the ’85 Bears and a Super Bowl champion. Chicago won’t be the same.”

…Ditka became synonymous with Chicago football during a career that spanned more than three decades as both a player and coach.

Ditka entered the NFL as the fifth overall pick in the 1961 draft and spent his first six seasons with the Bears, establishing himself as a pioneer at the tight end position. He helped revolutionize the position, traditionally associated with blocking, by becoming one of the league’s most dangerous receiving threats. As a rookie, he recorded 1,076 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, earning NFL Rookie of the Year honors.

He caught 316 passes for 4,503 yards and 34 touchdowns in 84 games with Chicago. The Bears traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967, where he played for two seasons before finishing his career with the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 to 1972.

The article notes:

After retiring as a player in 1972, Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Cowboys under legendary head coach Tom Landry, helping the team win Super Bowl XII. He returned to Chicago in 1982 as head coach of the Bears, where he would cement his legacy as one of the NFL’s most recognizable personalities.

Ditka’s greatest triumph came in the 1985 season, when he guided the Bears to a Super Bowl XX title with a dominant 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots. The Bears finished the season with an 18-1 record, powered by a historically dominant defense that remains among the most celebrated in NFL history. Ditka became one of the few men in NFL history to win championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

He was a wonderful role model and a gifted player and coach. He will be missed.