For generations of football fans, especially those in Chicago, he represented far more than wins, championships and Sundays at Soldier Field. He was part of the identity of a franchise—a larger-than-life personality whose toughness, passion and unmistakable presence helped define an era of American football.

That legend was Mike Ditka.

The Hall of Fame tight end and iconic former Chicago Bears head coach has died at 86, according to Jarrett Payton of 104.3 The Score.

For Bears fans, the loss closes a remarkable chapter in franchise history.

Ditka didn’t simply coach one of football’s most memorable teams. His connection to Chicago stretched across decades, first as a groundbreaking player and later as the fiery head coach who led the Bears to the pinnacle of the sport.

His crowning moment came with the unforgettable 1985 Bears.

Behind a punishing defense and an offense led by Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, Chicago tore through its competition on the way to Super Bowl XX.

The Bears finished that extraordinary season by overwhelming the New England Patriots 46-10, delivering Chicago a championship and creating a team that would be remembered long after the final whistle.

For Ditka, that championship carried an even deeper meaning.

His return to Chicago was something he had personally pursued.

While working as an assistant under legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry, Ditka wrote to Bears owner George Halas asking for an opportunity to come home and lead the franchise for which he had once played.

Halas gave him that opportunity in 1982.

What followed was an 11-season run as Bears head coach and a place in Chicago sports history that would never be forgotten.

Ditka was named NFL Coach of the Year in both 1985 and 1988. The Super Bowl XX victory also gave him his second championship as a coach after he had been part of the Dallas staff that won Super Bowl XII.

But before millions knew Ditka as the intense figure pacing the Chicago sideline, he had already changed the game on the field.

The Bears selected him fifth overall in the 1961 NFL Draft.

At a time when tight ends were still viewed largely as blockers, Ditka helped redefine what the position could become.

During six seasons and 84 games with Chicago, he caught 316 passes for 4,503 yards and 34 touchdowns, establishing himself as one of football’s most dangerous receiving threats at the position.

Chicago traded Ditka to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1967. He spent two seasons there before joining the Dallas Cowboys, where he played the final four seasons of his career from 1969 through 1972.

By the time his playing days were over, Ditka’s résumé included two NFL championships, five Pro Bowl selections, two first-team All-Pro honors and three second-team selections.

His impact endured long after he stopped playing.

Ditka was eventually named to both the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams—recognition reserved for players whose influence extended far beyond their own generation.

After retiring following the 1972 season, he spent nine seasons learning under Landry in Dallas before returning to the city with which his name would forever be linked.

Then came another historic honor.

In 1988, while still coaching the Bears, Ditka became the first tight end ever inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

By then, his legacy had already been secured twice over—as a player who helped transform his position and as the coach who brought Chicago one of the most celebrated championships in NFL history.

But statistics and trophies only tell part of the story.

For generations of Bears fans, Mike Ditka was simply “Da Coach”—a symbol of Chicago football whose personality seemed perfectly matched to the city and the teams he represented.

Players retire. Seasons end. Even championship celebrations eventually fade into history.

Some figures, however, become inseparable from the teams they helped build.

For Chicago, Mike Ditka was one of them.

He was 86.

Charlie Kirk’s mother is breaking her silence—and directly confronting the rumors that have swirled around her family and daughter-in-law Erika Kirk in the year since her son was assassinated.

Kathryn Kirk, who has largely remained outside the public spotlight since Charlie’s September 2025 killing, spoke to Vanity Fair about the speculation surrounding the family, Erika’s takeover of Turning Point USA and claims of a bitter private feud.

Her message was unequivocal.

“Here’s the truth: We were 100% behind her,” Kathryn said of Erika’s selection to lead the organization Charlie founded.

Kathryn specifically rejected claims that Charlie’s parents blamed Erika for his death, were battling her over his estate or opposed her taking control of Turning Point USA.

Instead, she said the unimaginable loss they share has brought the two women closer.

“Erika and I have, through the trauma, grown closer,” Kathryn said.

“We knew Charlie in a way that no one else did,” she added, describing a bond forged through their shared grief.

Kathryn said the two can look into each other’s eyes and understand “the depth of our despair.”

Her comments represent a rare and direct response to months of speculation that has spread across social media following Charlie’s assassination.

Vanity Fair reported that Kathryn became emotional while discussing the relentless scrutiny and accusations directed at Erika.

Kathryn said Charlie would have been deeply upset by the treatment his wife has endured since his murder.

She also acknowledged that her own desire to remain a private citizen inadvertently created a vacuum in which speculation flourished.

Among the claims circulated online have been allegations involving Charlie’s will, his estate, Turning Point USA’s succession plan, tensions between Erika and Charlie’s parents and even suspicions surrounding Erika herself.

But prosecutors have presented no evidence implicating Erika in Charlie’s assassination.

Authorities have instead charged 23-year-old Tyler Robinson with Charlie’s killing. Robinson has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

A Utah judge recently ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence at the preliminary-hearing stage for Robinson to stand trial on the charges against him.

His next pretrial conference is scheduled for October 23.

The stakes in the case remain enormous, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.

Charlie’s security in the period leading up to his assassination has also come under intense scrutiny.

He had been receiving threats before his appearance at Utah Valley University, and discussions were underway about additional protective measures.

According to the Vanity Fair account, Charlie discussed bulletproof shields and protective vests with Erika and their pastor the night before he was killed.

Kathryn said her son intentionally kept his parents out of many of those conversations because he knew the details would intensify their fears for his safety.

The possibility that something could happen to Charlie had also reportedly forced Turning Point officials to confront an uncomfortable question before his death: Who would lead the organization if Charlie no longer could?

According to board members and people close to the organization interviewed by Vanity Fair, Charlie had made his preference clear.

He wanted Erika.

Eight days after Charlie’s assassination, Turning Point USA’s board unanimously elected Erika CEO and chair.

The organization said at the time that Charlie had “expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted.”

That account undercuts one of the most persistent narratives surrounding Erika’s rapid elevation—that her takeover represented an unexpected power grab following her husband’s death.

Those close to the organization instead described succession discussions that had taken place before the assassination.

“She knew him more than anyone,” one former Turning Point employee said of Erika.

Vice President JD Vance also defended Erika’s ability to carry Charlie’s organization forward.

“We can never replace Charlie,” Vance said while discussing Erika and the future of Turning Point USA.

But Erika’s new position has placed her under a level of scrutiny few political widows ever face.

Questions about Turning Point’s future have become intertwined with speculation about Charlie’s assassination, his estate and the circumstances surrounding Erika’s rise to the top of the organization.

Vanity Fair identified former Charlie Kirk ally Candace Owens as one of the most prominent voices publicly questioning Erika and aspects of the official account surrounding the assassination.

Owens has argued that Erika should face questioning.

Prosecutors, however, have not accused Erika of participating in her husband’s killing.

The toll of the case was visible during Robinson’s preliminary hearing.

Erika described sitting alongside Kathryn as enhanced surveillance footage of Charlie’s shooting was shown in court.

As the footage depicted the alleged shooter moving into position, Erika said she grabbed Kathryn’s arm and cried.

Erika also recalled insisting on seeing her husband’s body after the shooting despite a doctor initially advising her against doing so.

Now, after largely staying silent as theories about her family spread online, Charlie Kirk’s mother has publicly entered the conversation herself.

And on one of the biggest questions fueling that speculation—whether Charlie’s parents privately blame Erika or oppose her leadership—Kathryn Kirk’s answer could hardly have been clearer.

“Here’s the truth: We were 100% behind her.”

Fox News is bringing one of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s most prominent former aides onto its platform — a move that immediately triggered a furious response from one of the network’s own former personalities.

Melissa DeRosa, Cuomo’s longtime top lieutenant and former secretary to the governor, has been hired as a Fox News contributor and will appear on the network’s new weekly podcast, “The Girls.”

DeRosa will make her debut when the program premieres Oct. 1, Fox News Media announced Monday.

But the announcement quickly reopened one of the most bitter controversies surrounding Cuomo’s administration: New York’s handling and reporting of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean blasted the decision.

Dean’s mother-in-law and father-in-law died of COVID-19 in 2020 after living in New York long-term care facilities. Their deaths turned Dean into an outspoken critic of Cuomo and his administration as she pushed for answers about the state’s nursing home policies.

Following news of DeRosa’s Fox role, Dean unloaded.

“Melissa DeRosa helped smear the women who came forward about Andrew Cuomo’s harassment, and played a hand in undercounting nursing home deaths during COVID. Also tried to silence my advocacy.”

DeRosa served as secretary to the New York governor, becoming the first woman to hold the powerful position.

She resigned in August 2021 as sexual harassment allegations engulfed Cuomo’s administration.

But DeRosa had already become a central figure in the controversy surrounding the Cuomo administration’s handling of nursing home death information.

Months before her resignation, DeRosa acknowledged during a private call with Democratic state lawmakers that the administration had withheld nursing home death data while facing concerns about a possible investigation by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.

The February 2021 disclosure intensified scrutiny over New York’s accounting of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents.

At the time, the state’s nursing home tally did not include residents who died after being transferred from nursing homes to hospitals, leaving thousands of deaths outside that particular count.

DeRosa later maintained that the administration had placed state lawmakers’ request for the information on hold while it prioritized responding to the federal inquiry.

The controversy did not end there.

A New York State Assembly investigation released in November 2021 concluded that Cuomo had not been fully transparent about nursing home resident deaths.

The investigation also concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed women and used state resources in connection with the production and promotion of his pandemic memoir.

Now DeRosa is returning to the political-media spotlight through Fox News.

She will appear on “The Girls,” a new weekly podcast featuring a rotating group of female co-hosts discussing politics, careers, family life and pop culture.

The premiere will also feature Fox personalities Rachel Campos-Duffy, Harris Faulkner and Kat Timpf.

New episodes are scheduled to be released Thursdays on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The launch will also bring former ESPN personality Sam Ponder back into the spotlight following her 2024 departure from the sports network.

Ponder, the former host of “Sunday NFL Countdown,” will join DeRosa and the Fox personalities for the premiere episode.

But it is DeRosa’s addition that has already generated controversy before the first episode even airs.

For Dean, the issue is deeply personal.

She spent years publicly challenging Cuomo’s administration over its handling of nursing homes after losing two family members during the pandemic.

Now the former governor’s onetime top aide is joining the same media organization where Dean became one of the most visible critics of that administration.

And Dean made clear exactly what she thinks of the decision.