Mike Ditka has high expectations for Bears this season

Hall of Famer Mike Ditka — the only coach to win a Super Bowl with the Bears — has high expectations for the team in 2019.

He believes coach Matt Nagy has the right skills and charisma to lead them to their deepest postseason run in more than a decade.

He’s a big fan of quarterback Mitch Trubisky.

And Ditka says they’re going to win the NFC North, without a doubt.

“The Bears are going to be good,” he said. “Now, how far you go after you win the division, that depends. The main thing you’ve got to do [is beat] Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit. You’ve got to come out of that division with at least five wins with [those] teams. Now, if you do that, you’re going to be in pretty good shape. The rest of the league will usually take care of itself. The schedule will balance out.

“But, yeah, I think they’re going to be really good. I love the coach, I love what they’re doing. Mitch is a good quarterback. They can run the ball. They play good defense. I mean, they do all the things you’re supposed to do. It’ll be good.”

Ditka wouldn’t disclose which team he predicts will win the Super Bowl.

“I don’t get into that,” he said.

But in this week’s Chat Room, he did share his thoughts on many other topics, including Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s job security, Fudgsicles and hip-hop music. The Sun-Times caught up with him at last Sunday’s Sky game, where he sat courtside with his wife, Diana, in support of Misericordia Home, a facility that helps provide care for people with mild to severe developmental disabilities.

How’d you get involved with Misericordia?

Mike Ditka: “I support them. If you don’t know about Misericordia, go see the home, see what they do, see how they take care of the people who stay there, and then you understand what it’s all about. That’s what happened to me. I played in a golf tournament back in the ’80s when I was coaching, and the guy said, ‘Well, how about coming to Misericordia?’ And I said, ‘Sure, I’ll come by.’ So I went up there, and once I saw it, then I understood what they’re really doing is unbelievable. They’re helping people who can’t help themselves. And the littleist thing makes their life joyful. So it’s kind of — that’s why I do what I do. That’s why I try to help them in any way I can.”

Did you watch any of the Cubs-White Sox series last weekend?

MD: “Yes, I watch the Cubs all the time. I watch the Sox, too. . . . They’re both two good teams. I’m a Chicago sports fan: Blackhawks, Bears, Bulls, Sox, Cubs, Sky.”

Who’s your favorite Chicago athlete currently?

MD: “Right now? Oh, I don’t know. I don’t follow it that well. I love the hockey game. I could say [Jonathan] Toews or somebody like that, but I love the baseball team, too, the Cubs. I don’t pick individuals as much as I pick teams.”

Diana Ditka: “What about Joe Maddon?”

MD: “Oh, Joe Maddon. That’s my favorite guy. He’s good.”

The Cubs struggled on the road in the first half of the season, going 18-27. Some fans are calling for Maddon’s firing. What do you think of that?

MD: “I think those people are full of crap.”

What’s your favorite food?

MD: “My favorite food? Hmm.”

DD: “Fudgsicles.”

MD: “You’re probably right [laughs]. Fudgsicles.”

What type of music do you listen to?

MD: “I listen to old ’50s music. I grew up . . .”

DD: “What about country music?”

MD: “Oh, I love country. I love Willie’s Roadhouse [a satellite radio station owned by Willie Nelson that plays older country hits]. But I listen to ’50s music and country western. I don’t like this hip-hop bull[crap].I don’t like that.”

You’re 79 now. What’s the best piece of life advice you can share?

MD: “Don’t have a lot of regrets. If you make up your mind to do it, do it. If it doesn’t work out, you might be able to overcome it, but don’t go through life with a bunch of regrets. I really wish I would’ve done that. Give it a shot — you never know. You might hit a home run.”

Looking back, do you have any regrets?

MD: “You know, there’s a song: ‘Regrets, I’ve had a few. But then again, too few to mention.’ Yeah, I think you always have a few regrets. Probably some of mine were in coaching, about some of the players I had to cut. That’s hard. You form relationships, and it’s hard when you have to cut somebody.”