One thing that people may forget about the glory era of the 1980s for Chicago Bears football? As popular as Mike Ditka became with fans as “Da Coach,” the reality was far different in the locker room. Things were fine for the first few years. However, as the team stampeded towards their Super Bowl championship in 1985, it started to become clear to several of them that Ditka cared more about his own success than his players. Few believe that more strongly than Dennis McKinnon.
The former Bears wide receiver went after his former coach in a big way in his recent book called “Silky D Bares All.” Apparently he tells a story about how Ditka placed a bet before the Super Bowl that William Perry, “the Fridge,” would score a touchdown in the game. As everybody today knows this is what ended up happening, and it came at the expense of running back Walter Payton who ended up not scoring one himself.
Dan McNeil and Danny Parkins of 670 The Score couldn’t wait to ask McKinnon if this was actually true. The receiver did not back down at all from the story.
“Absolutely…Well, I was there. I had the game plan. I know waiting in practice before the Super Bowl he was not in the offensive game plan. I know what the line in Vegas was. Each team was supposed to get 20 tickets apiece. We got 10. I remember getting on the elevator and Betty Swanson, who was our ticket person was on the elevator with boxes of tickets. McCaskey took 10 tickets from every player to give to family and friends. So there was nothing they did not do against us.
But yes I will tell you emphatically that Mike profited from taking Payton out and putting in Perry.”
Dennis McKinnon thinks that started Ditka’s downward spiral
Even to this day Ditka still gets heat for not having the wherewithal to ensure Payton got his TD that day. If what McKinnon says is true and the coach intentionally did it in order to earn some extra money, that does not shine the best light on him. It’s part of a disturbing string of stories about Ditka that have permeated over the years. Him stealing endorsement opportunities from players and the like.
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However, McKinnon believes the final straw for most came in 1987 when the coach openly spoke out against them during the player’s strike that year. It was final validation that he didn’t care about them and he lost credibility in the locker room. As a result, the team performed poorly in the playoffs that year and never rediscovered the magic formula that made them champions.
