A key part of what is widely regarded as one of the best defenses in NFL history, the Hall of Famer had been diagnosed with the incurable disease in 2021.

McMichael, a cog in the Bears ’ legendary 1985 defense whose outsized personality lived on through professional wrestling and in popular culture, died at 5:28 p.m. Wednesday at 67, a source confirmed. Earlier in the day, sources said he was being put in hospice care after being in intensive care on a ventilator.