Bears Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher Shares a Great Mike Ditka Story

Mike Ditka never coached Brian Urlacher. But Urlacher has played golf with him, and that told him everything he needed to know about the man.

Rich set it up by recalling a recent visit from Tom Waddle, who said some of Ben Johnson's characteristics mirror Ditka's. Rich knew Urlacher didn't play for Ditka, but he wanted his favorite Ditka story.

Urlacher started with Waddle's. "I saw the Waddle story. I mean, how about that by the way? Cut him four times. Still gave him a chance," Urlacher said. "I enjoyed watching Tom talk about that cuz you know he got emotional, but this shows you what coach meant to him."

Then came his own. The first time Urlacher played golf with Ditka, at a course in Chicago, he learned the rules of the group quickly. It didn't matter what Ditka shot on the last hole. "Coach Ditka is hitting first."

So Ditka would tee off, walk to his cart and drive away, leaving the rest of the group still standing on the tee box waiting to hit. Urlacher wondered if that was okay. Then it happened again on the second shot. Ditka hit, headed for the green and, as Urlacher told Rich, "literally drives on the green, doesn't care. Drives up on the fringe."

"Dude, he doesn't care," Urlacher said. "He just, he's him. He does what he wants to do. I think that's the same way he coaches."

Urlacher made it clear the story comes from admiration. "I'm such a big fan of his," he said. He remembered how Ditka spoke in the Chicago media while Urlacher was playing. "When he said things, you actually paid attention to it because he was honest. He didn't make things up. He didn't say things that you didn't believe."

Urlacher wished he had more of that in himself. Ditka "just said what he thought, got away with it," and people expected it. "That's just the way it was with Coach."

Rich then asked what Ditka would make of what's happening with the Bears right now.

"He'd be very proud with the football they're playing," Urlacher said. "He would be a happy dude because they're playing football the right way. They're winning the right way."

Urlacher pointed to how the Bears talk, too. He likes what Coach Johnson says at the podium, and he likes what he hears from Caleb. "That's what I want to hear my quarterback say after the game," Urlacher said. "When they win, he gives credit to everybody else. When they lose, I got to play better." The same goes for Johnson, he said, comparing it to what the team learned from Lovie right away when he arrived.

He also loves the postgame videos of the players dancing and celebrating. "It's always fun when you win, right? But when you see this stuff, man, it's inspiring," Urlacher said. "It's fun to see and they deserve it."

His last thought was about how long Chicago waited. Since Lovie left, Urlacher said, "it's been a long time coming for someone to get in there and do what he's been doing."