Mike Ditka refused to engage in a war of words with Hall of Fame defensive Richard Dent, who said Wednesday that Ditka was the reason the 1985 Chicago Bears didn't repeat as Super Bowl champions.

After winning Super Bowl XX to cap a 15-1 season with one of the greatest defenses of all time, the Bears looked poised to challenge for another one in '86. But a controversial hit by Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Charles Martin ended Jim McMahon's season in Week 12 with the Bears at 10-2.

The Bears finished the regular season 14-2, but after having Mike Tomczak and Steve Fuller back up McMahon during the regular season, Ditka turned to Doug Flutie in the playoffs. Flutie went 11 of 31 for 134 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a playoff loss to the Washington Redskins.

"More than anything, Mike didn't manage that quarterback position," Dent said on WSCR-670 (AM). "Bringing Doug Flutie in and thinking that he's gonna come in and be on a team for three weeks and start him in a playoff game? Hell, I mean you're trying to change the name on the Super Bowl trophy to Mike Ditka (from) Vince Lombardi when you do something like that.