Mike Ditka: Better assistant-coach or HC?

[74_75_78_79_]

Like I already said, Ditka should receive no less credit than anyone else for leading Bears to that SB-victory in '85. The unraveling from there on out, however, I tend to agree with most of what has been said in this thread. Acquiring Flutie not as bad an idea in retrospect. Only problem was the team was so behind McMahon and also Fuller; it was prone to messing up locker room chemistry. But Flutie did show signs in the late-'80s that he should have been given a better chance as an NFL QB; especially during his '88 stint with Pats. Either way, as with their franchise history, Bears were really not a QB's preferred destination during Ditka's tenure being that he did allow for such vanilla offenses. From McMahon to Harbaugh, many a time the QB simply couldn't resist changing the plays in the huddle - even if it meant facing Iron Mike's wrath.

Nothing has been mentioned yet on his time as an assistant for Landry. Any takes on that?

[Bryan]

Nothing has been mentioned yet on his time as an assistant for Landry. Any takes on that?

I thought Ditka was just a special teams coach for the Cowboys. The reason he got the Bears job was/is obvious. Ditka could have been the greatest ST coach ever, or the worst ST ever, and it would have had no affect on his Bears hiring.

I guess my take on Ditka's ST tenure is that he coached a kicker who once blamed his holder for a FG miss by complaining "You held the ball upside down".

[lastcat3]

I think part of the reason he got the Bears job as well was because Halas wouldn't have to pay him very much.

[JohnH19]

There are a lot of great assistant coaches who made poor head coaches but how is anyone supposed to know if a successful head coach, like Ditka, might have been a better assistant?

[BD Sullivan]

I think part of the reason he got the Bears job as well was because Halas wouldn't have to pay him very much.

Ironic, since his griping about Halas being cheap (i.e. "throws nickels around like manhole covers") was what got him banished to Philly.

[Halas Hall]

Could Mike Ditka be an underrated member of the Hall of Fame? Brock Bowers just broke his rookie record that stood for over sixty years. He was a top assistant to Landry, and not many head coaches have left the Bears with winning records.