Overview
- The Ditka family announced his death Friday through Jarrett Payton and did not provide a cause of death.
- Ditka was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 as the first tight end to be elected.
- He won a Super Bowl as a player with the Dallas Cowboys, as an assistant coach in Dallas, and as head coach of the 1985 Chicago Bears, who finished 15–1 and beat the New England Patriots 46–10 in Super Bowl XX.
- Ditka led the Bears from 1982 to 1992 and later coached the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999, a Saints tenure remembered for the trade that moved the team up to draft Ricky Williams.
- The NFL, the Bears and numerous former players and media figures issued tributes and coverage says memorials and retrospectives on his playing, coaching and cultural legacy are expected.