Mike Ditka is back in Chicago, not in hospice care, family says: Sneed exclusive

The coach is back!

Legendary Bears coach Mike Ditka, the tough football legend who survived a stroke, heart attack and subsequent recovery in Florida in recent years, is back home.

And Da Coach has a lot to say.

“I’m finally home! This city is my home. “I love it,” Ditka bellowed in an exclusive interview with Sneed on Monday after quietly sneaking into town “a few days ago.”

“I was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Pittsburgh, but Chicago is my home.” . . and it is my life. It’s the people I miss – more than anything else.

“I can’t express how happy I am to finally be home.” . . “I want to come back, even though it was very cold when we got off the private plane at Midway Airport a few nights ago,” he added with a laugh.

The indomitable trainer and his wife Diana not only quietly slipped into the city without much fanfare, but also reclaimed the old geography: a new condo in the same Gold Coast building where the couple had lived for years.

The new Ditka locations are within walking distance of the couple’s beloved (and now-gone) Ditka restaurant, where the Ditkas held court daily in a booth surrounded by friends and adoring fans. The trainer’s eponymous grub hub closed in 2020 after 24 years in the Tremont hotel complex at 100 E. Chestnut St.

“Look,” Ditka told Sneed at the time about the deal. “This (COVID) virus thing is historic.” But in the end it was a great run. But things wear out over time. It’s over and it was good. . . . “No complaints.”

Not long after, the couple withdrew their money, sold their apartment and moved to Naples, Florida.

When Sneed contacted Diana on October 18 to wish Mike a happy 85th birthday, she signaled to her cigar-chomping husband that he had finally quit smoking and joked that they were still together.

Then she gave this kicker before abruptly hanging up:

”Yes. We really miss Chicago. BUT we should actually have news for you soon. But not now. Bye.”

Holy pork chop! Was Da Great Grabowski’s health in crisis? Was he in hospice? What did Diana mean?

Now we know. The Ditkas are back. The coach’s health has been tough – touches but no action – and has been a serious concern at times, but he is still in the game while dealing with health issues.

“But my husband is NOT in hospice,” Diana said, even though caregivers are present. She also helps finish Mike’s sentences when his memory fails.

They are still settling in.

“Most of our furniture hasn’t arrived yet, but we’re just so happy to be home,” she said. “Thank God we have the TV and are back in the warmth of a city we call home.”

In the meantime, the incomparable trainer is missing his legendary restaurant’s legendary pork chop.

But Sneed has it on good authority that a delicious delivery from Freddy’s was sent to the Ditka digs on Monday, one of the coach’s favorite dishes: chicken lime.

So come on, Coach!

The city of big shoulders is just happy to have you back home.