Ditka Happy That Ryan Is Gone : Coach Says He’s No Fan of Ex-Aide or of ‘46’ Defense

Mike Ditka, coach of the Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, says he’s glad to see the last of Buddy Ryan.

“I’m not happy he’s gone--I’m elated,” Ditka said in an interview.

He also accused his former defensive coordinator of playing favorites and of hogging credit for the Bears’ success.

“Never again in history will an assistant coach get as much credit as Buddy did,” Ditka said. “I handled it well. It will be interesting to see how he handles it, now that he’s the head coach.”

(Ditka, when reached Thursday at the Philadelphia International Airport on his way to make a speech, denied saying he was “elated” that Ryan was leaving. “I said it was going to be a new challenge,” he told United Press International.)

Ryan, who put together the “46” defense that helped Chicago to an 18-1 record this season, left the Bears shortly after their 46-10 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots to become head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.

According to Ryan, Ditka was fortunate to have him.

“I should be so lucky to have a Buddy Ryan around,” Ryan said. “I’d like to have somebody around to take care of me.”

Ryan also said that the Bears have such a weak schedule next season that they have a good shot at another NFL title. Among the Bear games is one at Soldier Field with the Eagles, 7-9 last season.

Ryan came to the Bears in 1978 with Coach Neill Armstrong. He was kept on by the late George Halas, who fired Armstrong after the 1981 season and hired Ditka.

By most accounts, Ditka and Ryan never hit it off well, in part because of differing philosophies on defense and on handling players.

Ditka said that Ryan had “a buddy-buddy system” and played favorites.

“I believe in playing the best 11 players,” Ditka said. “I don’t believe in having favorite players. I want challenges, not preconceived situations. I want everybody to have a chance to play.”

He also said that Ryan took more than his share of the credit.

“He took a lot of bows, and I let him take them,” Ditka said. “But he didn’t let any of his assistants take any bows.

“Some people don’t give credit to anyone else. Why doesn’t (offensive line coach) Dick Stanfel get more credit? We led the league in rushing three years in a row.”

Answered Ryan: “I never favored any players, I treated them all alike. I’d jump on an All-Pro as quick as I’d jump on a rookie. Some you have to pat on the back, some you have to kick in the butt. I never had any buddy-buddy system.”

Ditka never has been a proponent of the “46” defense, in which six or seven men rush the passer, leaving cornerbacks and linebackers in one-on-one coverage.

“Hell, the defense should have been great this season,” Ditka said. “They were on the field 20 minutes of the game. The offense was on the field for the other 40 minutes.”

But he said he backed Ryan even when they disagreed.

“I even sat back at what happened at Platteville,” said Ditka, alluding to the time during training camp that Ryan called rookie defensive tackle William Perry a wasted draft choice. Perry was put into the starting lineup at midseason only at Ditka’s insistence.

Ryan said that denigrating Perry was just one of his tactics for getting the most out of a player. “It sure worked, didn’t it?” he said.

Ditka saw it another way. “Things like that affect the whole organization, the coaching staff, the scouting staff,” he said. “It’s a slap at the entire organization. I backed him up, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with him.”

Despite their disagreements, Ditka said that he and Ryan had only one major blowup. It came at halftime of the Bears’ only loss, a 38-24 decision in Miami.

“That was major,” Ditka said. “I wanted to know what we were doing on the field on defense, how we were trying to cover three different receivers.”

Said Ryan: “(Ditka) didn’t know what was going on on defense, and we cussed each other out. But we’d do that every three or four weeks. Maybe it stands out in his mind, but it doesn’t really stand out in my mind.”