Mike Ditka acknowledged that he told his...

Mike Ditka acknowledged that he told his assistants he would quit as coach of the Chicago Bears after the 1987 season, but added that he said it in a fit of anger and did not mean it.

“I did mention that to them, but of course I mention a lot of things in the heat of anger,” Ditka told television station WBBM in Chicago. “I’m not sure everything I say would stay that way.”

Ditka also said he did not tell Michael McCaskey, the team president, or anyone in the Bears’ front office that he planned to leave after next season when his contract ends.

“I said nothing to the management of this organization, or to any reporter,” he told WBBM.