Jim Harbaugh held his Friday news conference with the Chargers hours after the family of Mike Ditka announced that the Hall of Fame coach had died at 86. Ditka coached the 1985 Bears to the only Super Bowl title in franchise history. Harbaugh played quarterback for Ditka in Chicago from 1987 until the Bears fired Ditka in 1992, and when the questions turned to his former coach, he answered with a scene from those years that Ditka never made public.
Feb 6, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Mike Ditka on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors award ceremony at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
“One time, he had me come into his office,” Harbaugh said. “We were talking about the game plan, and he said, ‘Hold on a second.’ He was writing out checks and signing checks, and I could see that from across the desk. One, and then another, and then another, and then another, and another, and another, until finally I said, ‘What are you doing, coach?’”
“He said he had gotten a letter, and it was a stack of letters from people in need,” Harbaugh continued. “… He was never one to self-promote that. I just happened to have witnessed it with my own eyes.”
In a 1992 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Harbaugh threw an out route that Todd Scott intercepted and returned 35 yards for a touchdown, and television cameras caught Ditka‘s tirade at his quarterback on the sideline.
That clip has followed both men for more than three decades. Harbaugh had a room full of reporters and an easy laugh within reach on Friday. He gave them the man behind the desk instead, a version of Ditka that never made a highlight reel and that Harbaugh said Ditka himself never mentioned.
Former Bears QB Jim Harbaugh on his former HC Mike Ditka (
@chargers): https://t.co/jGm3d0Ykr5
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 10, 2026
Where Mike Ditka ranks among Jim Harbaugh’s biggest football influences
At Big Ten media days in Chicago in 2015, seven months into his tenure at Michigan, Harbaugh pulled a Ditka Bears jersey from under the dais and said he would be proud to wear it. He listed Ditka with his father, Jack Harbaugh, former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler and former Raiders owner Al Davis as the biggest influences on his football life. He had eaten dinner with Ditka at his former coach’s Chicago restaurant the night before.
Mike Ditka, X League Owner (Carol T. Powers).
Ditka stayed on that list through everything that came after, including a national title at Michigan and the move to the Chargers.
Harbaugh also said in a statement: “Our heartfelt condolences to Mike’s family, his Bears family, and to the countless people he touched from near and afar. It is impossible to think of the history of the NFL without seeing his face and his famous mustache. Sadly, Mike has passed on, but his legend will live forever.”
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