Mike Ditka has won four NFL championships as a head coach, an assistant and a player.
Which makes him…
"A totally great guy and a total winner," Donald Trump says.
The Republican presidential candidate was responding to favorable comments from "Da Coach" in his weekly Chicago Sun-Times column, "4 Downs With Ditka."
"I do like Donald Trump," Ditka says. "Sometimes, I think he has to think a little more before he says things, but I think he's on the right track. I think he has the fire in his belly to make America great again, and he’ll probably do it the right way. I do like him."
That is all Trump needs. Ditka's next stop could be a spot in the executive branch.
"I'd love to have Mike involved in some capacity," Trump says. "Why? Because Mike knows how to win and our politicians don't."
He was a tight end on the Bears' 1963 NFL championship team. In 1985 he coached the Bears to their own title in the Super Bowl era.
Ditka was a five-time Pro Bowler and two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year winner. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986 for his play at Pittsburgh and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
"I have always loved Mike Ditka," Trump says. “He is what toughness is all about. When he was coach, there was total respect. Nobody messed with Mike.
"Our country needs smartness and toughness. Other countries don’t respect us any longer. If I win, that will change very quickly. Mike’s kind of attitude and personality is what our country needs as its representative."
Secretary of Defense Ditka certainly has a ring to it.
