Johnny Hellcat

Da Coach is gone. The Ditka family announced his passing this morning, shared by Jarrett Payton. He was 86. MIKE DITKA. 1939–2026. RIP. They called him Iron Mike. Chicago called him Da Coach. Football called him the man who turned the tight end from a blocker into a weapon. Aliquippa kid. Pitt. Fifth overall in 1961. First tight end in the Hall of Fame. Caught everything they threw at him, then coached like the game still owed him something. Player on the 1963 Bears championship. Player on the Cowboys’ Super Bowl VI team. Assistant on Super Bowl XII. Head coach of the 1985 Bears who ran the table and buried New England 46–10 in Super Bowl XX. The only man who stood in both of Chicago’s last two titles, once in the huddle, once on the sideline with a cigar and no overcoat in a wind chill that would have sent anyone else inside. Mustache. Sunglasses. Sweater. The stare. The Shuffle. Grabowski. He punched a locker, came back from a heart attack in 11 days, and never apologized for being exactly who he was. The ’85 Bears were loud. Ditka was the reason they believed they were supposed to be. Rest easy, Coach. Chicago won’t be the same. 🐻⬇️ Prayers for Diana and the family.