As a head coach in the NFL Mike Ditka experienced his best and worst moments in New Orleans. The best was in 1985, when his Chicago Bears were a juggernaut that plowed through the NFL schedule, accumulating a record of 15-1 that got them to the ‘86 Super Bowl that was played in the Superdome. They won easily over the New England Patriot, 46-10.
And the worst moment came after the 1999 season, when Ditka was fired by an angry owner, Tom Benson. By then he’d been head coach of the Saints over the past three years, but finished that season with a 1-13 record. Benson was so upset about the season that he even ran a full-page newspaper ad apologizing for the team’s performance. Not only did he fire Ditka, but the entire coaching and administrative staff as well. That day Tom Benson must have felt like the loneliest person on earth.
He was certainly the loneliest person in the Saints office. Even Danny Abramowicz, by then a defensive coach, who had been a first year 17th round draft pick in the Saints inaugural 1967 season, was affected. As a player he was a fan favorite, for his kamikaze-like receptions that sometimes landed him in the bushes that paralleled the field. He would be fired by Benson, too.
Thoughts of Ditka, and Benson, came to mind last week with the news of the former coach’s death at the age of 86. He had a good, colorful, award-winning career, though as tends to happen in football, there were hard hits along the way.
As for the Bensons, his widow Gayle, who now owns the team, made some strong statements last week criticizing the team’s performance as being “unacceptable.” She also lamented the disappointment that the fans must be facing. No one was fired last week, but when even Drew Brees, commentating for FOX TV, was critical of the team, you knew there was a lot of hurt going on.
After leaving the Saints, Mike Ditka would not coach again but he still had a high-profile life as a sports celebrity in the press box and the talk shows. He also dabbled as an entrepreneur, including giving his name to steakhouses in Chicago, Pittsburgh and, of course, briefly, New Orleans.
Though the ’99 season was a disaster, there would soon be reason to pop the cork. The following season after the mass firings, the team, under new coach Jim Haslett, experienced its first-ever playoff win. The Associated Press named Haslett the NFL’s Coach of the Year.
Although the Saints would not advance far in the playoffs, the momentum was in the right direction. Imagine, five seasons later, the Saints won the Superbowl. The Bensons deserved a dome full of cheers.
Gayle Benson also deserves applause for the Saints performance this week when they beat the New York Giants. The game, played in the Giants’ home stadium, was a thriller as the Saints fell behind, rallied in the second half and held on at the end. (Whatever tonic Gayle Benson gave her team during the week should be packaged and sold on E-Bay. Coaches around the world would want to buy cases.) Now the team is in Paris, bolstered by its win in New York; preparing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and hopefully eyeing the Arc de Triomphe.
A final memory: When Mike Ditka was first hired, New Orleans Magazine published a feature interview with the new coach that covered a range of topics, including how he felt about New Orleans cuisine. When asked if he ever sucked the head of a crawfish, a startled Ditka answered, “If I ever suck anything, it won’t be a crawfish.”
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