Mike Ditka
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| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | W | L | T | PCT | W | L |
| 1982 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| 1983 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 |
| 1984 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1 | 1 |
| 1985 | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 3 | 0 |
| 1986 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 0 | 1 |
| 1987 | 11 | 4 | 0 | .733 | 0 | 1 |
| 1988 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1 | 1 |
| 1991 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 |
| 1992 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 106 | 62 | 0 | .631 | 6 | 6 |
| Career | 112 | 68 | 0 | .622 | ||
Born: October 18, 1939 Carnegie, PA
Mike Ditka became the Chicago Bears 10th head coach in 1982. Mike Ditka, aside from the late George Halas himself, is arguably the individual who represents the essence of Chicago Bears football: intimidating, tough, dominating, and a champion. Mike Ditka is the only coach in Bears history to win a Super Bowl Championship. And the championship team that he led is revered as one of the greatest to ever take the field.
Mike Ditka was the last coaching hire by Founding/Owner/NFL Pioneer George Halas. Ditka had sent George Halas a letter stating that he was still a Bear at heart and wanted to see the franchise succeed. In 1982, George Halas hired Ditka to turn around a pitiful franchise with a strong defense. Mike Ditka inherited a defensive coach, Buddy Ryan, from the Armstrong staff. Ryan was retained as a result of Gary Fencik, DB, producing a player petition to Mr. Halas. Ryan and Ditka didn’t mix well, but their partnership forged one of the most memorable teams in NFL History and probably the most suffocating defense called the “46” in honor of Doug Plank. Supplied by the late-Jim Finks draft picks, the Chicago Bears built a team that had Hall-of-Famers Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, and Mike Singletary.
He was consensus coach of the year in 1985, when the Bears won 15 of 16 regular season games and beat the New England Patriots 46-10 in the Super Bowl.
Mike Ditka was known for feuding with press, players, and even his assistants, the short-fused Ditka become increasingly irascible as the team's fortune's declined. Mainly because good friend and GM Jerry Vanisi was fired and a replacement wasn’t hired by new team president Mike McCaskey. The errosion of front-office continuity was a result of the power-stuggles among the McCaskey ownership. However, after a 5-win season and a six year absense of a GM, Mike McCaskey fired Mike Ditka in 1992 during an emotional news conference.
For this Bears fan, the day he was fired was the beginning of the misery under full McCaskey control. If Mike Ditka’s coaching days were in fact by him, he should have been kept on staff to help build the organization’s front office with football people. Not an Ivy League petty power club of accountants and lawyers. Ditka was in the Cowboy system for 11 years (counting his playing days) and his experience would have been invaluable for setting up football operations.
Mike Ditka represents Bears Football: the winning kind.
Coaching Career
Retiring as a player after the 1972 season, Ditka was immediately hired as an assistant coach by Cowboys' head coach Tom Landry. Ditka spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the Cowboys. During his tenure, the Cowboys made the playoffs eight times, won six division titles and three NFC Championships, including the one preceding their Super Bowl victory in 1977.
In 1982, Ditka left the Cowboys to become head coach of the luckless Bears. Reversing the Bears' pitiful record of only two winning seasons in the previous nineteen, Ditka led the Bears to six NFC Central titles and three trips to the NFC Championship. Ditka's coaching career hit its pinnacle in 1986 with a 46-10 creaming of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. Football commentators widely regard the Bears "46" defense in 1985 as one of the best ever.
Ditka was awarded Coach of the Year honors in 1985 and 1988 by The Sporting News, the Associated Press, and pro football writers.
• 1982-1992—Chicago Bears Head Coach (Super Bowl Champs 1985)
• 1973-1981—Dallas Cowboys assistant coach (Super Bowl Champs in 1977)
Playing Career
Mike Ditka wasn’t just a successful and colorful coach; he was a dominating football player. In 12 NFL seasons, Ditka recorded 427 receptions for 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns.
• 1957-1960—University of Pittsburgh Tight End and was awarded the following from his college career
• Named Concensus All-America (1960)
• Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (1986)
• Pittsburgh Retired Jersey No. 89 (1997)
1961-1966—Chicago Bears first round draft (5th overall) where as a rookie he caught 56 passes for 1,076 yards and 12 touchdowns to win the NFL's rookie of the year award. He started 84 consecutive games in his six seasons with the Bears and was named an All-Pro from 1961 through 1964. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Ditka was not only an outstanding blocker, but one of the best pass-catching tight ends in history. His 75 receptions in 1964 was a record for a tight end at the time. As a player he won a championship in 1963. The last Chicago Bears championship until he was head coach in 1985.
1967-1968—Philadelphia Eagles via trade from the Bears as a result of a foot injury. In his first season in Philly, he suffered a partially torn knee ligament that further limited his effectiveness.
1969-1972—Dallas Cowboys via trade from the Eagles. He finished his playing career with Dallas in 1972. Used mostly as a backup by the Cowboys, he showed something of his old form in 1971, catching 30 passes during the regular season and scoring a touchdown in the team's 24-3 Super Bowl victory over the Miami Dolphins.
NFL Awards
• Named Rookie of the Year (1961)
• Named NFL All-Pro Four Times (1961-64)
• Selected to Play in Five Straight Pro Bowls (1961-65)
• Member of 75th Anniversary NFL Team
• First Tight End Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame (1988)
