LB Vinson Smith: “I remember talking to Mike Ditka after my last game in New Orleans. I went to his office and he gave me the best advice I ever got. He said the first thing I needed to understand is that I’ll never find anything that excites me more than football. Nothing will replace it. That’s what I loved about Mike – he was straight up about things. He told me that if I tried to replace football I’d only fail. That life was over with – I won’t find anything like that again.”
Steelers OL Coach Bill Meyers: “We played Ditka and his defensive coordinator, Buddy Ryan. They wanted to run the 46 defense and the NFL said no – no blitzing or things offenses couldn’t handle. It was a big deal. Well, Donnie Shell was the safety for us. And the Steelers scheme was always that if a tight end stayed in to block, the safety should blitz. Well, sure enough in the game the tight end blocked and Shell ended up blitzing and sacking Montana. He was just going on what he knew. But Ryan and Ditka were so upset!”
Bengals Coach Sam Wyche: “Ditka and I are the only two who also broadcasted Super Bowls as well. Ditka is the annoying one though – he always reminds me he was the one who won all three Super Bowls he played or coached in! Of course Montana beat the Bengals when I was a head coach – and more on Joe later.”
S Clendon Thomas: “I also remember when Mike Ditka was traded to Dallas near the end of his career. Mike was a very tough, mean competitor. I had received a permanent indentation to my skull from Mike’s forearm, so I gave every effort to give out as good as I received. Mike knew me pretty well because of a mutual friend, Bill Wade, formerly with the Rams and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”