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Former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka is recovering from a heart attack. (Jordan Strauss / Invision via Associated Press)
Hall of Fame and ESPN analyst Mike Ditka is recovering from a heart attack in Florida this week, according to long-time agent Steve Mandell.
Ditka suffered a "mild heart attack," Mandell said ESPN. He did not specify the day.
"The doctors have inserted a pacemaker and it is much better," Mandell said. "He appreciates the surge of support and looks forward to coming back soon."
Ditka, 79, won the Super Bowl titles as a player and coach for nearly four decades in the NFL. Since then, he is known by another generation of football fans through his work as an NFL analyst on CBS, NBC and more recently, ESPN. , where he was a fixture on the Sunday and Monday shows of the "NFL Countdown".
He rose to prominence as the Bears' head coach from 1982 to 1992, during which he recorded a 106-62 record in the regular season. He coached Chicago to a Super Bowl XX victory in 1985. Three years later, that same year, he was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame as a player and suffered his first heart attack. "Iron Mike" was back on the sidelines as a "counselor" a week later, and then resumed his coaching duties the following week. He has been named coach of the year by the Associated Press this season.
He was fired by the Bears after a 5-11 season in 1992 and spent a few years in the radio booth after the layoff. He resumed training in 1997 for the New Orleans Saints. He retired in 1999.
Ditka has also played 12 seasons as the tight end of the NFL, the first six with the Bears. He caught a touchdown pass to Roger Staubach's Super Bowl VI in a 24-3 rout against the Miami Dolphins. When he retired in 1972, he had 43 touchdowns and five nods to the Pro Bowl.
He is one of four people to have won a Super Bowl as a player and coach on the same team, having won the World Championship title as assistant coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1977.
In 2012, he had a small stroke, but then rebounded quickly. The same day, he told the Chicago Tribune: "I feel good right now, and it does not matter."
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