Oct 9, 2026 · 22 min · 11 segments
Crain’s political columnist Greg Hinz joins host Jeanne Sparrow to discuss AI regulation and whether we…
Jeanne SparrowHost
Greg HinzGuest
[gentle music] Mike Ditka, the larger than life Chicago Bears coach who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl championship and became one of the city's most recognizable personalities, has died.
Known to generations of Chicagoans simply as Da Coach, Ditka presided over the legendary 1985 Bears, whose swagger, ferocious defense, and colorful personalities made them one of the most celebrated teams in NFL history.
The Bears went fifteen and one during the regular season and demolished the New England Patriots forty-six to ten in Super Bowl XX, delivering Chicago its first NFL championship since 1963.
I think everybody has to have their own identity as a coach because they're individual people.
I'm gonna coach the game a little bit the way I played the game.
It's gonna be a hard-nosed type football, but it's gonna be a type of football that you're not gonna predict everything that's gonna happen, especially on offense.
He later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, winning another Super Bowl with Dallas.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, Ditka was among the rare figures to win NFL championships as both a player and head coach with the same franchise.
In life, many men have talent, but talent in itself is no accomplishment.
Excellence in football and excellence in life is bred when men recognize their opportunities and then pursue them with a passion.
With his trademark mustache, sweater vest, sunglasses, and famously combustible personality, he became a symbol of Chicago’s tough-talking, blue-collar identity.
His celebrity endured decades after his departure from the Bears in 1993 through TV and movie appearances, endorsements, and his namesake restaurant.
I have a lot of heroes in life, and one of my heroes is a man named Abraham Lincoln.
And Lincoln had a little statement that he made about himself that I kind of think it applies to me, and I've tried to live by it.
I don't always make it, but I try.
And he made a simple statement that says this.
He said, "I did the best I could." He said, "I did the best I knew how." He said, "I mean to keep on doing it that way right up to the very end." He said, "If the end brings me out all right," he said, "what's said against me will not matter." He said, "But if the end brings me out all wrong," he said, "ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."
For Chicago fans, Ditka was more than a championship coach—he was a civic institution.
[gentle music] Mike Ditka, the larger than life Chicago Bears coach who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl championship and became one of the city's most recognizable personalities, has died.
Known to generations of Chicagoans simply as Da Coach, Ditka presided over the legendary 1985 Bears, whose swagger, ferocious defense, and colorful personalities made them one of the most celebrated teams in NFL history.
The Bears went fifteen and one during the regular season and demolished the New England Patriots forty-six to ten in Super Bowl XX, delivering Chicago its first NFL championship since 1963.
I think everybody has to have their own identity as a coach because they're individual people.
I'm gonna coach the game a little bit the way I played the game.
It's gonna be a hard-nosed type football, but it's gonna be a type of football that you're not gonna predict everything that's gonna happen, especially on offense.
He later played for the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, winning another Super Bowl with Dallas.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988, Ditka was among the rare figures to win NFL championships as both a player and head coach with the same franchise.
In life, many men have talent, but talent in itself is no accomplishment.
Excellence in football and excellence in life is bred when men recognize their opportunities and then pursue them with a passion.
With his trademark mustache, sweater vest, sunglasses, and famously combustible personality, he became a symbol of Chicago’s tough-talking, blue-collar identity.
His celebrity endured decades after his departure from the Bears in 1993 through TV and movie appearances, endorsements, and his namesake restaurant.
I have a lot of heroes in life, and one of my heroes is a man named Abraham Lincoln.
And Lincoln had a little statement that he made about himself that I kind of think it applies to me, and I've tried to live by it.
I don't always make it, but I try.
And he made a simple statement that says this.
He said, "I did the best I could." He said, "I did the best I knew how." He said, "I mean to keep on doing it that way right up to the very end." He said, "If the end brings me out all right," he said, "what's said against me will not matter." He said, "But if the end brings me out all wrong," he said, "ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference."
For Chicago fans, Ditka was more than a championship coach—he was a civic institution.
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