Happy Birthday! Mike Ditka's Most Badass Moments

We throw around the word "badass" around these parts quite a bit, but perhaps no man embodies the term more than Mike Ditka. Iron Mike made it into the Hall of Fame by redefining the TE position as a player, but it's his tenure as a cantankerous coach that really cemented his status as a football icon. Over 11 memorable years coaching the Chicago Bears (and three not-so-memorable ones with the Saints), Ditka embodied the spirit of old-school, tough-guy football: ornery, aggressive, and always intimidating. He's mellowed with age, but the mustached man is no less entertaining these days as an ESPN pundit and sometime actor. On his 71st birthday, we salute the living legend with this collection of Mike Ditka's Most Badass Moments...believe us, they weren't hard to find.

Date: October 9, 1988

Moment: A pissed-off Ditka begrudgingly sits for a post-game TV interview...in his underwear.

Complex says: This is Iron Mike at his bad-tempered best. The funniest thing about this clip may be the fact that it came after a 24-7 win that gave the Bears a 5-1 record. Imagine this guy after a loss...or just keep clicking. You'll see.

Date: 1980s

Moment: A collection of Ditka's best sound bites during his years with the Bears. In 11 seasons, Ditka led the Bears to seven playoff appearances, including a Super Bowl victory at the end of the famed

Date: September 28, 1991

Moment: The virtues of Ditka are extolled on another episode of Bill Swerski's Superfans on SNL.

Complex says: The non-Chicago part of America got an idea of how much the Windy City idolized Ditka in this recurring SNL skit. Even with an MJ cameo, the focus here is, as always, on the unfuckwittableness of Iron Mike. R.I.P., Chris Farley.

Date: April 18, 1999

Moment: After leaving the Bears at the end of the

Date: November 15, 1999

Moment: With the losses mounting in what would be his final year as an NFL coach, Ditka snaps at reporters after a practice.

Complex says: As we said before: angry, but in control. NEXT!

Date: December 5, 1999

Moment: Ditka sounds utterly demoralized after his Saints get crushed in Atlanta, leaving them 2-10.

Complex says: This was probably the nadir of Ditka's coaching career—never before had Iron Mike seemed so vulnerable and hopeless. Sidebar: New Orleans featured two Billy Joes (Tolliver and Hobert) at QB in the

Date: 2001

Moment: At his own roast, Ditka accidentally upends a table and then gets pushed off the dais by Paul Hornung.

Complex says: This entire sequence is a little bizarre. We hope that Ditka bitch-slapped Hornung, though, because that was kind of a dick move.

Date: 2005

Moment: Ditka plays an approximation of himself in this 2005 Will Ferrell movie.

Complex says: As Ferrell's belligerent neighbor, Ditka steals scenes with gusto. Too bad Ditka wasn't featured more, because this flick is definitely one of Ferrell's forgettable check-cashing gigs. Not even good on weed.

Date: September 10, 2007

Moment: Monday Night Football cameras catch Ditka adjusting his junk in the booth.

Complex says: You could say that Iron Mike took this broadcasting gig by the balls.

Date: 2009

Moment: ESPN enlists Snoop Dogg to team up with Ditka for this Sunday NFL Countdown ad.

Complex says: With his bowler hat, gold chain, and stogie, Ditka doesn't look out of place alongside Snoop. Real Gs recognize real Gs, you dig?

Date: February 7, 2010

Moment: For its Super Bowl XLIV commercial, Boost Mobile remakes the O.G. "Super Bowl Shuffle" with members from the