Sports : Ditka Named Coach of the Year, Esiason Honored as League’s MVP

Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who lost half a dozen key players to retirement, free agency and injury and himself suffered a heart attack at mid-season, was named the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year today.

Quarterback Boomer Esiason of the Cincinnati Bengals, the key figure in Cincinnati’s 180-degree turn from 4-11 in 1987 to an AFC-best 12-4 this season, was named by the AP as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.

Ditka led the Bears to a 12-4 record and their fifth straight division title. It was the second time the award has gone to Ditka, who also won in 1985, when Chicago won its first Super Bowl.

Esiason, who had the best rating of any NFL passer, completed 57% of his passes and threw for 3,572 yards and 28 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions as the Bengals took control of the AFC Central early and captured the division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.