It was fitting that Jarrett Payton delivered the news.
The son of legendary Bears running back Walter Payton shared that his dad’s iconic coach, Mike Ditka, died on Friday at the age of 86, live on air on his “Haugh & Payton” show on 104.3 The Score.
“I just got a phone call that Mike Ditka passed away,” he said. “It’s hitting me because I was not expecting this phone call. We don’t have the press release, it should be on the way, but it saddens me to give this information to the city of Chicago.
Payton struggled to hold it together, visibly and audibly.
“Everybody knows how much coach means to me and to my family and to the city, to the Chicago Bears,” he continued. “He has been nothing but an amazing person for my entire family but also somebody that made sure I was ok, that our family was ok and always kept up with us. Any time that I need him, he was always there. I.. this is a lot for me, for everything that’s happened to Matt [Suhey], to this…
At that point, his co-host David Haugh stepped in.
“Sorry for your loss, Jarrett,” he said, offering his co-host a reprieve as he reiterated the devastating news.
Walter Payton played six seasons, from 1982-87, under Ditka during his Hall of Fame career, winning the franchise’s only Super Bowl together in 1986 adding four Pro Bowls and two All-Pro selections to his already sterling resume. Ditka was a source of comfort and guidance to the Payton family when Walter died in 1999 of liver disease.
The news of Ditka’s passing comes a month after the death of Walter Payton’s best friend and lead blocker, Matt Suhey, who died in his sleep over Labor Day weekend at the age of 68.
Jarrett Payton was also tasked with sharing the official Ditka family statement on the late NFL tight end and coach on X.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” the family said. “While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach, and leader of the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family. Mike will be missed beyond measure and remembered forever.”
