JIM GRAY: Mike Ditka did it his way. Football will never see another like him
America knew him as a football legend. He became the NFL’s symbol of toughness and the emblem of Chicago. Mike Ditka was more than a Hall of Fame player and head coach who led the Bears to their unforgettable Super Bowl XX championship. He was a man who reached well beyond the football field. Coach Ditka was my partner on the radio for a nearly a decade.
On our show and podcast this week, "Let’s Go!," broadcast on SiriusXM NFL Radio, I paid tribute to and honored the life of Coach Ditka, along with my fellow co-hosts past and present — Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Matthew Stafford, Drew Brees and Peter King. They joined me to speak about what Ditka meant to them and to the game of football. Here was our tribute.
It's been a very difficult few days since we've learned of the passing of Mike Ditka on Oct. 9, at age 86. Guys like Ditka are very rare. He was a once in a lifetime man. He seemed indestructible. I thought he would beat everything and everyone, and that he just might live forever because a guy like Mike Ditka isn't supposed to die.
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America's Coach, that's what I called him, and that's who he was. He was my partner on the radio for many, many years. I truly loved him. He was so much fun. He lived his life to the absolute fullest.
Tough yet tender. Generous, yet demanding. Funny as hell and a temper that was explosive. He could make you laugh, make you nervous, make you cry, and also feel like the most important person in the room, sometimes all in the same conversation.
He was never polished, never predictable, never interested in being politically correct or being liked by everybody.
But perhaps there was no one in sports more beloved by his teammates, by his players, by his colleagues, by his opponents, and even by his critics.
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He was Iron Mike. Da Coach. A man of character, who was, a character.
The tombstone of Jackie Robinson reads, "A life is not important, except in the impact it has on other lives." Ditka's impact was enormous on Chicago, the NFL, sports, pop culture, and across the country.
He was bigger than life. Yet, he was always there and available for me personally. He traveled a great distance to introduce me and give the induction the day I was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His words were heartfelt, helpful, and instructive.
"I tell you what an honor this is when you really think about it. I don't know anybody else on this Walk of Fame, but I know you," Ditka said to me and the assembled audience. "What a great honor to be recognized by your peers for your achievements. And I know that you are a professional in everything you do, because when you do it, you do it right. Now I know that there's an art to everything in life. And if there is art to an interview, then you are Michelangelo, believe me, because you are good at that. Now, why is he good? Because he asks tough, hard, fair questions that you've got to answer. And the reason you've got to answer them is because the interview wouldn't work without your answer. And that's what makes him so good. I'm really proud to be your friend. We've been together for a long time," Ditka continued.
"Let me tell you something that I know for a fact about life. If you have no critics, you have no successes. God bless you."
That sentiment, is so enlightening and edifying to anyone in public life. He knew it, and he chose successes. Critics be damned.
Ditka truly had it all. The mustache, cigar, volatility, the winning, the loyalty. He was one of a kind.
And for the people who knew him beyond the public persona, there was another side. The one of extraordinary kindness. They saw the moments when the bluster disappeared. Mike Ditka helped, truly helped, so many people. Whether they were fellow players in need, youngsters in crisis, seniors in peril, families that were struggling, or strangers in distress. Ditka was the most generous person I've ever known. I saw his commitment to contribute, respond, and was constantly giving of his time and resources. And he wanted and expected absolutely nothing in return for his countless, truly endless acts of goodwill.
That's the part you can't put in a highlight reel, and maybe that's the part that matters most.
His life was lived to the lyrics of the song, "My Way."
"For what is a man? What has he got? If not himself, then he has not. To say the things he truly feels, and not the words of one who kneels. The record shows I took the blows and did it my way."
When somebody like that is gone, you don't just miss what he did. You miss his presence.
There will never be another Mike Ditka because as Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote,
"When nature removes a great man, people explore the horizon for a successor; but none comes, and none will. His class is extinguished with him."
Mike Ditka, my dear friend, America's coach, an institution and national treasure, was in a class all his own.
Every time we ended a conversation, Mike would never say goodbye. His words would always be, "God bless, Jimmy."
So, I won't say goodbye to Coach Ditka. I will follow his lead. God bless, Coach.
May God rest your soul and bless your family.
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Here is what the all-time greats had to say during the show about Coach Ditka. This week’s episode of "Let’s Go!" can be heard here.
"There are so many things I loved about Coach Ditka from watching from afar and getting to know him over the course of my NFL career. He was as tough as the city that he coached in and he was the first tight end ever in the Hall of Fame. I heard Gronk on the pregame show say he owed a lot to Coach Ditka. Without Coach Ditka, there are no players like Rob Gronkowski who revolutionized the tight end position. And without Rob Gronkowski, I'm down a bunch of Super Bowls. So I gotta thank Coach Ditka for a lot of reasons. He won a Super Bowl as a player, he won a Super Bowl as a head coach. And as a quarterback, I always know what a great tight end means to an offense. He is my safety valve. That's your third down answer. And every one I ever threw to owes something to Mike."
"On TV, he also revolutionized the game with his media career. He never softened on a word. There was never a filter. There was no fluff. It was just all football. Rest easy, Coach Ditka."
"As a player, Mike was extremely tough, competitive, all business, a guy you certainly didn't wanna mess with and he set the tone for the teams that he played on. It was similar as a coach. He had that same toughness that transferred to his team and, and players. And you knew anytime you went up against him, like you were going to be in an absolute brawl and fight all the way to the finish because that's the way he and his teams competed. Loved Mike. Loved Mike and what he meant to the game. And we'll miss him."
"I had the pleasure of being on some of the NFL shows with him. You know, his presence was really something else. All these guys, they play football, they coach football, then they move to talking about football and they become just a guy that talks about football. But Ditka was always coach, right? I mean, and I remember, getting to do those shows with him. He had the cigar unlit under the table. He was just true to himself and that was such a cool thing to be a part of."
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"He was not only an incredible player, but an incredible coach. There's a type of leadership where you just see things happen before they happen. You just have a vision for what the way that things should be, and then your contributions to getting it to that point. It's a rare trait. I think Mike was no question, was certainly one of those guys and man, he's gonna be missed."
"Nothing ever about Mike Ditka was invented, was put on anything. He always was himself. Ditka, as a player, as a coach, as a broadcaster, was authentic and he was perfect and he was dedicated to be great at whatever he did at that moment."