Mike Ditka, Hall of Fame tight end and Super Bowl coach, dies at 86

Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end who later coached the Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl championship, died Friday, October 9, at 86. His family confirmed his death in a statement, according to CBS Chicago.

The family remembered Ditka as a husband, father, grandfather and friend whose place in their lives extended beyond his public football career. The NFL also issued a condolence message Friday.

Ditka's football life began in western Pennsylvania. He grew up in Aliquippa and became an All-American at the University of Pittsburgh in 1960. Chicago selected him fifth overall in the 1961 draft, beginning a professional career that would eventually take him through Philadelphia and Dallas before he returned to the Bears' sideline.

A tight end who could change a game

The Pro Football Hall of Fame credits Ditka with helping expand a position that had largely been a blocking assignment. His first NFL season produced 56 receptions for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. Those numbers came in a 14-game season.

In 1964, Ditka caught 75 passes, a tight end season record that stood until 1980. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his first five seasons and helped Chicago win the 1963 NFL championship.

After six seasons with the Bears, Ditka played two with the Eagles and four with the Cowboys. He caught a touchdown pass in Dallas' 24-3 Super Bowl VI victory over Miami. He finished his playing career after the 1972 season with 427 catches, 5,812 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns.

Returning to Chicago

Ditka joined Tom Landry's coaching staff in Dallas after retiring as a player. George Halas brought him back to Chicago as head coach in 1982, reconnecting the former Bears tight end with the franchise that drafted him.

The Bears reached the NFC Championship Game following the 1984 season. The next year they went 15-1 and won Super Bowl XX, beating New England 46-10 on January 26, 1986. Ditka remained Chicago's coach through the 1992 season; after a 5-11 finish, the team fired him. A later stint coaching New Orleans lasted from 1997 through 1999.

His public career continued through television analysis and advertising. Bears fans knew him as "Da Coach," a persona celebrated in Saturday Night Live's "Superfans" sketches. He also worked as a restaurateur and maintained ties to Misericordia, the Chicago organization serving people with developmental and physical disabilities.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted Ditka in 1988, making him its first tight end. In 2013, the Bears retired his No. 89 at Soldier Field, honoring the player whose career in Chicago had started more than half a century earlier.