Over my years of watching football, I’ve seen a lot of head coaches come and go in the NFL. Most are utterly forgettable. A few are memorable. A couple even become stars. But very few become media icons like Mike Ditka, who we lost recently at the age of 86.
Considering that Iron Mike was, in his own way, a classic — and that I live in Chicago, where he always had godlike status — it seems like a good reason to look at a few of the things radio hosts and Program Directors can learn from Coach Ditka.
I was inspired to write about this after I saw an article on Awful Announcing talking about how Ditka became a star by being “unapologetically himself.” I can’t really think of a better model for radio hosts. The reason the coach connected with the fans and media in Chicago, and beyond, was that he didn’t change for anyone.
Unapologetically Himself
Especially during his coaching years, Ditka was known for ranting at the media. But his rants were different. It wasn’t the way people rant today. He was fueled by passion for his team, and he wasn’t afraid to let it show. As he famously said, “Let me tell you something that I know for a fact about life. If you have no critics, you have no successes.”
Too many of today’s talent are afraid to be themselves on the air. They are either concerned with not making listeners mad, or they are focused on purposely trying to make listeners mad to build engagement. I’m not sure which is worse, but neither is authentic. And authenticity is what builds the connection with Bears fans or the radio audience.
And it was that level of honesty and authenticity that carried him beyond coaching into being an analyst, a spokesperson for brands and even an actor. That’s another lesson for talent who either want to grow beyond radio or just find themselves under pressure to deliver endorsements to help their stations generate revenue. Ditka didn’t pretend to be someone else, and that’s why he was successful outside of football.
A Coach to Everyone
What wasn’t as readily apparent about Ditka was his commitment to his players on and off the field. This is where Program Directors could take note. He coached in the era before contracts for players ballooned to the size they are now. Ditka understood these guys weren’t making a lot of money, and he actively worked to support them.
That started with being a coach to everyone. Ditka didn’t just focus on his superstars. Radio host and former Bears receiver Tom Waddle says Ditka cut him from the team four times, but each time told him to keep working to get stronger. Eventually, Waddle made the team and had a long career, all of which he attributes to Ditka’s encouragement. In a tearful appearance on ESPN Chicago, Waddle said, “If you showed loyalty and honesty you’d get it back tenfold.”
And just as he didn’t change who he was for anyone, he didn’t expect his players to, either. For anyone too young to remember the Super Bowl champion 1985 Bears team, quarterback Jim McMahon was a famous wild card. He wore a headband on the sidelines even though he was fined for it. And his trademark sunglasses — which he actually wore for medical reasons — were legendary. Ditka also made a star out of William “The Refrigerator” Perry, using the 335-pound defensive lineman as a fullback, which was unheard of at the time.
Of course, the ultimate example of allowing his players to be themselves has to be the famous song “The Super Bowl Shuffle.” The song was recorded before social media and content creation became the norm for players like it is today. A team recording a song for charity during the heat of the season was unheard of at the time, and surely Ditka could have stopped them if he’d considered it a distraction.
Putting His Efforts Where His Heart Was
And while he wasn’t always politically correct, and sometimes it was difficult to root for him, Ditka always put his efforts where his heart was. He advocated for players all the way up to testifying before Congress on the NFL’s responsibility to retired players and their health concerns. Those efforts eventually led to the Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund.
That sort of advocacy for the people in the radio industry who have the least or are struggling to grow into a bigger role is too rare. If we all focused on that a little more, radio would be better for it. And while not all of us can rise to the level of Coach Ditka, maybe if a few more of us take cues from what the coach stood for, we might end up with our own Saturday Night Live sketch.
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