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Mike Ditka: 'Da Coach' On Winning Titles, Smart Planning And Tackling Debt

This article is more than 9 years old.

As a Hall of Fame tight end and a Super Bowl-winning coach, Mike Ditka was known for many things but chief among them his tough, no-nonsense attitude on the sidelines. Even though he's left the gridiron behind, some things don't change.

"These athletes today who think this is gonna last forever, they're crazy. If you make $5 million, but you spend $6 million, it's not gonna work," Ditka thunders in a recent phone call, fresh off 36 holes at his golf course in Naples, Florida.

The head coach of the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears team that went 15-1 before trouncing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX says he has slowed down a bit in recent years, but at 75 he's still as outspoken as ever on topics ranging from football to retirement, managing debt and even the TSA (really).

"I've been messing around with this game called professional football since I was 21 years old," Ditka says, but for all his financial success – as a coach, pitchman and restaurant investor – the reason he can currently spend much of his time on the golf course is because he had a plan.

"The main thing was don't spend everything you make. Put it away, invest it in stock, bonds or whatever, but save your money, because nothing lasts forever."

Ditka, who has a longtime financial advisor handling his investments and business partners who operate his five eponymous steakhouses and keep him updated daily, also subscribes to the common retirement advice that it's never too early to start planning.

"It's not like I dreamed this up yesterday, I've been doing this for 40 years," he says. "My plan in life was to make sure I had enough to get to the finish line. I'm 75 now so I think I've got enough."

Part of executing that plan has meant avoiding the crutch of credit cards and debt in general.

"I was looking at the interest payments on my homes and I said, 'this is stupid,' Ditka says."On a 30-year mortgage, the interest payments for the first 15-20 years are ridiculous." So he paid off his mortgages. He carries an American Express platinum card, but rarely uses it, opting to pay for almost everything in cash.

That's rarely an issue, because the other key element in Ditka's plan is not overspending to keep up with the Joneses.

"I don't need a Bentley or a Rolls Royce, I need a car; I don't need a mansion with 15 bedrooms, I need a nice house," he says.

Living comfortably but not outrageously has meant Ditka's been able to take opportunities on his own terms, whether that means his work on ESPN's football programming that keeps him connected to the NFL, his various business dealings or his speaking engagements.

He's curtailed the latter in recent years, in part because he has set a high standard for his appearances, including private air travel to the events.

"I just don't want to go through airports and deal with the TSA anymore, I'm too old for it and I think it's silly, I really do. I understand why it's done, but if I'm a risk then I tell ya the good lord's a risk," Ditka quips.

Since leaving coaching after a forgettable three-year stint with the New Orleans Saints ending in 1999, Ditka acknowledges that his competitive drive is at least slightly less ferocious.

"The only way I can explain it is the highs are never as high as they used to be, but the lows are nowhere near as low," he says. "My life's about living, not winning."

Though Ditka jokes that he's a professional sleeper, he plays plenty of golf, puts in face time at his restaurants and has a hand in charity work, especially Gridiron Greats, a foundation created to assist former football players in need.

Ditka, who sits on the foundation's board of directors, is also willing to poke fun at himself for the cause. Next up, he'll take part in a "Prancercise Challenge" at April's NFL Draft in Chicago.