President Donald Trump was caught by surprise on the South Lawn before heading to Syracuse on Friday.
Before making the trip north with Mike Tyson and New York Yankees president Randy Levine, the press pool informed Trump that famed Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka had died.
The news issued a raw reaction from the president.
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“Oh, he did? He was a great guy. He was with me all the way. He was tough,” Trump said. “Mike Ditka — that’s a sad one.”
“He was great. He was a big supporter of mine, and he was a winner. He was a tough cookie.”
Ditka supported Trump ahead of the 2016 election.
Ditka coached the famous 1985 Bears that rampaged through the NFL with an 18-1 record, losing only to the Miami Dolphins, and then going on to a Super Bowl title.
The death of one of the NFL’s greats was announced Friday morning by his family in a statement.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, Mike Ditka,” the statement said. “While the world knew Mike as a Hall of Fame football player, legendary coach, and leader of the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl XX championship team, we knew him as the heart of our family.
LEGENDARY BEARS HEAD COACH MIKE DITKA DEAD AT 86
Ditka was a great tight end who won the Super Bowl with Dallas, and was a Super Bowl winning coach with the Chicago Bears. He also became something of an iconic figure as fans and celebrities copied his look and imitated his no-nonsense talk.
Drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1961, he became the first modern receiving tight end and the first tight end selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ditka won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1961 and made five consecutive Pro Bowls from 1961-65 and earned five All-Pro selections.
He played for the Bears from 1961-66, the Philadelphia Eagles from 1967-68 and the Dallas Cowboys from 1969-72, finishing with 427 receptions, 5,812 yards and 43 touchdowns.
Ditka played on teams that won the 1963 NFL championship with Chicago and Super Bowl VI with Dallas following the 1971 season.
He retired as a player after the 1972 season, entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.
He became Chicago’s head coach in 1982 and was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1988, coached the Bears through 1992 and later led the New Orleans Saints from 1997-99.
OutKick’s Armando Salguero and Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.
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