Former Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher did plenty of refereeing on the Chicago Bears sideline when it came to Mike Ditka, the former coach and Hall of Fame tight end who died Oct. 9 at 86.
Ditka, whose cause of death was not revealed by his family, was most well-known for being a ferocious player and the no-nonsense coach who led the Bears to the Super Bowl XX title. He also was known for having a sometimes contentious relationship with his defensive coordinator, Buddy Ryan, a former Vanderbilt assistant.
Ditka's agent, Steve Mandell, Ditka's,told USA TODAY Sports that Ditka died of natural causes.
Fisher sometimes found himself standing between his coach and his position coach when disagreements during games began to get out of hand.
"Numerous
times I got between Buddy and Mike, separating them and so on," Fisher told The Tennessean on Oct. 9. "It was a different relationship between Buddy and Mike.
"The perception that there was this big gap between them and that they didn't like each other was far from that, though. They respected each other and and what each other brought to that program, especially the '85 Bears."
What former Titans coach Jeff Fisher said about Mike Ditka as a coach
Fisher was a part of the Bears for four years under Ditka, who was hired by Chicago in 1982, Fisher's second NFL season.
He said Ditka was an intense, competitive coach who wasn't overly controlling or a micromanager. Who could be found working out in the weight room before many of his players.
"Mike was an imposing, physical human being," Fisher said. "He was in early."
It wasn't all work and no play. But it was a lot of work, Fisher said.
"After the second day of training camp, everybody was up to their neck in ice-water trash cans," Fisher said. "And beer was on ice. It was just that way.
"You had to practice. You don't miss practice."
How Mike Ditka influenced Jeff Fisher as a coach
Fisher was much closer to Ryan, whom he followed to the Philadelphia Eagles to become an assistant coach the season after the Bears won the Super Bowl. But he said he also gleaned a lot from Ditka, who was 121-95 in 14 seasons as a head coach, including 11 with the Bears.
Fisher spent 17 of his 22 seasons as a head coach with the Houston Oiler/Titans.
"Mike had a relationship with every player," Fisher said. "He managed the personalities. He let them unfold. He didn't mold them. ... You have to be able to do that.
"Mike didn't talk to the team just to talk to the team. Mike talked when he had something to say. That's a very important trait."
Fisher also learned a bit of toughness from Ditka.
"He knew the difference between retribution and retaliation," Fisher said. "Payback is important, but don't hurt the football team, don't get caught and don't take any crap off anybody."
"Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Former Titans coach Jeff Fisher spent 4 seasons with Mike Ditka. Here's what he said about former Bears coach
