Mike Ditka, Longtime Vikings Rival and Hall of Fame Coach, Dies at 86

Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end and Super Bowl-winning head coach who spent more than a decade clashing with the Minnesota Vikings from across the NFC Central, died Friday at age 86, according to the Daily Norseman.

Ditka entered the NFL in 1961, the same year the Vikings franchise was born, after the Chicago Bears took him fifth overall in that year's draft. He was also drafted eighth overall by the Houston Oilers in the AFL draft but chose Chicago instead. He played tight end for the Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys before retiring in 1973 and joining Tom Landry's coaching staff in Dallas. The Bears brought him back to Chicago as head coach in 1982, a post he held through the 1992 season.

That 11-year run put Ditka in the Metrodome once a season, and he made no secret of his disdain for the building. In 1987 he dubbed it the "Rollerdome," suggesting it was better suited to roller skating than football — a jab that then-Vikings general manager Mike Lynn answered by mailing a pair of roller skates to Bears headquarters. The nickname outlived the insult: a skating club actually used the Metrodome under that moniker until the building was demolished following the 2013 season.

Ditka's final game at the Metrodome as Bears coach, in 1992, is likely the one most familiar to Vikings fans. Chicago led 20-0 in the fourth quarter when quarterback Jim Harbaugh's audible went awry — running back Neal Anderson missed the call, and the pass instead found Vikings defensive back Todd Scott, who returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. The Vikings scored three unanswered touchdowns to steal a 21-20 win, a collapse that left Ditka visibly unhappy with his quarterback's decision.

After Chicago, Ditka stepped away from coaching for several years before taking over the New Orleans Saints in 1997. He coached there through the 1999 season before moving into broadcasting. Along with former Oakland Raiders coach Tom Flores, Ditka is one of only two men to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach.

Reporting on Ditka's death and career history comes from the Daily Norseman.