Mike Ditka, the former Chicago Bears player and head coach who guided the team to its only Super Bowl championship, has died at 86, according to The Guardian. Ditka coached the Bears from 1982 to 1992 and led them to victory in Super Bowl XX, the newspaper said.
Before his coaching career, Ditka became one of the NFL’s leading tight ends after playing six seasons with the Bears from 1961 to 1966. The Guardian also notes that he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988 for his achievements as a tight end, becoming the first player at his position to receive that honor.
After leaving Chicago, Ditka later coached the New Orleans Saints from 1997 to 1999, and The Guardian says those three seasons were largely unsuccessful. He remained a high-profile public figure well beyond football, appearing in television sketches, testifying before a US Senate committee in 2007, and taking part in a White House ceremony honoring the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl-winning team in 2011.