Ditka Sees Job With Saints as Firing Offense

The fiery Mike Ditka was nowhere to be found Sunday.

With tears in his eyes, the coach who came back to the New Orleans Saints after four years away from the sidelines, said it might be time to leave the game for good.

“My job is to instill passion in these guys,” Ditka said after the Saints suffered a dismal 20-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. “Somewhere along the way, I have failed. It hurts me.”

Ditka said he likely will quit at the end of the season if things don’t turn around in the final four games. And, he added, if owner Tom Benson wants to fire him now, he wouldn’t object.

“I don’t have it anymore,” he said. “Maybe the game has passed me by. Maybe all the experts were right.”

Benson and general manager Bill Kuharich declined comment. Kuharich said he wanted to speak with Ditka before making any comment on the coach’s future.

Ditka returned to coaching this season with the Saints after spending the last four years as a commentator for NBC. Before that he spent 11 memorable seasons in Chicago, guiding the Bears to a 112-68 record and a Super Bowl championship.

His hot temper is legendary, but he seemed like a defeated man as the Saints (4-8) bumbled once again offensively against Falcons (4-8), who have won two in a row under first-year Coach Dan Reeves.

Other than arguing briefly when the officials allowed a sack after an inadvertent whistle in the second quarter, Ditka stood stoically on the sideline.

“I had a way of trying to coach and getting to people and I can’t do it anymore,” Ditka said. “I’m not going to do what I did the last couple of weeks and kill myself and jump around. I’m just not going to do it.

“If it doesn’t mean that much to other people, why should it mean that much to me? And I think that’s what happened to me today. It didn’t mean very much to me in the second half today. For the first time in my life, I can say that--it didn’t mean anything.”

The Saints have the NFL’s worst offense and also rank last in turnovers and turnover ratio. Against Atlanta, they managed only 173 yards with five turnovers, which was more than Ditka could bear to watch.

“It’s apparent that we don’t have much talent on this team,” Ditka said. “We’re not going in the right direction. We have no playmakers.”

Ditka said he will evaluate his status at the end of the season, but it was clear which way he’s leaning.

“They broke me down today,” he said of his team. “I don’t have it anymore. I don’t see us going in the right direction.”

Defensive coordinator Zavin Yaralin said Ditka was speaking out of frustration.

“We’re all frustrated,” Yaralin said. “I’ll tell you this: He is not stepping down. He’ll be back. He’s just not used to losing.”

Ditka’s players didn’t seem too concerned by his comments.

“I don’t know what he is thinking right now,” end Joe Johnson said. “Maybe it won’t be so, but maybe he has to move on. Whatever happens, happens.”