Today's installment of Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff brings us just 76 days away from the start of the 2023 season, meaning that today will feature the best player in franchise history to wear the number 76, Super Bowl Champion defensive tackle Steve McMichael.
Steve McMichael's path to the Chicago Bears
Hailing originally from Houston, Texas, Stephen McMichael and his family moved to Freer Texas before McMichael's enrollment in Freer High School. In school, McMichael lettered in multiple sports, including football, baseball, basketball, track and field, tennis, and golf. Of all his sports endeavors in high school, baseball may have been McMichael's favorite and best, but despite offers to join the St. Louis Cardinal's system out of high school, the multi-sport athlete chose to continue at the University of Texas, where he would join the school's football team.
At Texas, McMichael was a dominant force on the team's defensive line. A four-year letterman, McMichael was selected as a unanimous first-team All-American as a senior, earned two first-team All-Conference nods, and finished his collegiate career as the school's all-time sack and tackle leader with 30 and 369, respectively. McMichael even served early in his career as a part-time kicker, making 10 out of 14 total attempts as a freshman for 14 total points.
Following a standout career at Texas, McMichael entered the 1980 NFL Draft, where he was selected by the New England Patriots with the 73rd overall pick during the third round. With the Patriots, McMichael played in just six games as a rookie, and after logging just five total tackles as a rookie, McMichael was released from New England following his first season.
Steve McMichael signs with Chicago Bears
As a 24-year-old free agent in 1981, McMichael garnered great interest from the Chicago Bears and elected to sign a contract, bringing the dominant defensive tackle to a defensive line that already included the likes of Dan Hampton, Al Harris, and Alan Page.
In Chicago, McMichael began his stint with more of a reserved role, playing in just 19 total games with zero starts in 1981 and '82. However, by the start of the 1983 campaign, McMichael began to become more of a consistent contributor on the defensive front and even went to start in 10 of the team's 16 games while producing 8.5 sacks.
In 1984, McMichael had an even better season after becoming a full-time starter, adding 10 sacks in 16 starts. But even more impressive than his 1984 campaign was the dominant streak that started the following year, and helped cement the Bears defensive unit as one of the best in league history.
By 1985, McMichael, or "Mongo", as he was called affectionately and frequently by his Bears teammates, was a dominant force at the defensive tackle position, and created one of the most feared defensive lines alongside future Hall of Famers like Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, and even then-rookie nose tackle William Perry. McMichael finished the year with eight sacks in 16 starts and was even nominated as a First-Team All-Pro member following the season.
During the team's ensuing playoff run, McMichael start every postseason contest, including Super Bowl XX, where he helped the team win their first championship of the Super Bowl era. During the game, McMichael himself contributed one of the team's seven sacks.
Despite winning the Super Bowl as a team, McMichael showed no sign of slowing down, as 1985 was just the first of three years of dominance. In 1986 and '87, McMichael was nominated two his first two Pro Bowls as well as logging two All-Pro selections. Over this span, McMichael started all 28 games he was available for during the regular season and totaled 15 total sacks.
Following the 1987 season, the last in which McMichael was voted to the Pro Bowl, the defensive tackle played six more seasons with the Bears, starting in all but nine games. In this span, McMichael was given one more All-Pro nod and totaled nearly 50 sacks in 96 games. After the 1993 season, McMichael and the Bears failed to reach an agreement, making the former a free agent. After one year with the Green Bay Packers in '94, McMichael retired from the NFL after a 15-year professional career, 13 of which came with the Bears.
Steve McMichael's ventures after his Chicago Bears days
By his retirement, McMichael had totaled 171 starts in 213 games, logged 95 sacks, 847 total tackles, and even two interceptions. The vast majority of these numbers came with the Chicago Bears, and even today, McMichael is high up on many franchise records. Most notably, McMichael is second in franchise sacks with 92.5, surpassed only by his former running mate Richard Dent.
Since he retired from the NFL, McMichael has stayed relatively involved in sports, entertainment, and the greater Chicagoland community. Almost immediately following McMichael's retirement, the former multi-sport athlete became involved in the world of wrestling, specifically by participating in the World Wrestling Federation and the World Championship Wrestling.
During his time in wrestling, McMichael was a relatively big name in the scene and had storylines and bouts with famous ex-NFL wrestlers such as Lawrence Taylor and Kevin Greene, as well as with more traditional wrestling names such as Randy Savage.
After stepping away from the wrestling world in the 21st century, McMichael became involved in the Chicago radio landscape as he briefly co-hosted a Chicago Bears pregame show as well as being a frequent guest on Waddle and Silvy. McMichael had some less formal ventures, such as being a member of the Chicago 6, a rock and roll band that included former teammates in Dan Hampton and Otis Wilson.
Unfortunately, McMichael announced in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with ALS. Correspondingly, McMichael has retired from making public appearances, but still appears to be frequently visited from former teammates and wrestling partners.