Dana Dimel....

[CyberBull]

Dimel and Squad Look Forward to Hosting South Florida

Practice and preparation crucial this week for football team

Nov. 19, 2002

HOUSTON -

Overview of Cincinnati Game

"I was very disappointed in our performance last week in all levels of play. I was fearful going into the game and fearful at the beginning of the season that playing Cincinnati away in November would be a very difficult task for us. Adding that to the emotional loss the week before, it was not a good set of circumstances for our football team. Yet, we have to respond better than we did. We did not perform well enough to make the game competitive."

South Florida Game

"When this season started, the South Florida game was a very-much highlighted game on our schedule. I felt this would be a very pivotal game for our team. For me personally, it would be very important, because of the relationship I have with their coach. I coached with him at Kansas State, and we went through the experiences of turning that team around. We have a very competitive relationship."

"This is a ball game that our team is going to be very much ready to play. We will be very focused and look forward to winning a game after losing two in a row. It is very important for us to get ourselves back on a winning track and to a five-win mark. Winning this weekend would give us a chance to play Louisville with something riding on the game."

"It will be a very difficult test for us; they have an 8-2 record this year with the losses to Oklahoma and Arkansas. They play good solid defense and offense. They throw and run the ball very well. They don't have many weaknesses. The test is definitely there for us. It is one I think our football team will be very much up to and very much prepared for." "We are looking forward to having a great week of practices to prepare ourselves to go out and get a big win. Jofferey needs to have a great week; we need to be able to run the ball effectively. Nick's performance was not up to par last week; he needs to throw the ball better and more efficiently. We might try to throw the ball a little more this week to create some more big plays within our offense. We have to do a really good job of covering punts this week as they have one of the best program directors in the country. Special teams are going to play a big part in this football game."

"We are really excited to play our last two games at home. We will take that as an advantage for us. We need to play well at home, get ourselves a lead and hold onto that lead to win the game."

[CyberBull]

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Beginning his third season, Dana Dimel became a part of University of Houston history in 1999, when he was named the school's ninth head football coach. Dimel arrived in the Bayou City after a very successful three years as the head coach at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He brought an impressive 23-12 (.657) mark to the U of H program, and his Cowboy teams competed for the conference championship in all three seasons.

In rebuilding the once-storied Cougar football program, Dimel has brought a sense of pride and discipline to Houston. In 2000 the Cougars were hit hard by injuries, but Dimel kept his players together and fielded a extremely potent and competitive football team. Despite suffering his first losing season in four years, Dimel kept his composure and guided the Cougars to three impressive wins, including conference victories over Army and Memphis. Along the way Dimel redshirted over 25 players, thus laying the foundation to a very productive future.

Dimel's offense became a force to be reckoned with in Conference USA in 2000, racking up almost 350 yards of total offense per game, including 270 through the air. Senior linebacker Wayne Rogers capped his Cougar career by being named Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Year-the first Cougar to receive such an honor since the late Wilson Whitley earned Southwest Conference Devensive MVP in his Lombardi Award season of 1976.

This past season Dimel again redshirted the majority of his recruiting class, closely following his reconstructive blueprint to elevate the Cougars to not only top-notch Conference USA standing, but also become a player at the national level again. The UH squad exhibited glimpses of the future in 2001 with such young standouts as linemen Rex Hadnot and Al James, linebacker Justin Davis, cornerback Stanford Routt and strong safety Jermain Woodard becoming elite players in C-USA, being named Third-Team Freshman All-American after his outstanding season.

There is optimism and hope within the Houston ranks, as Dimel's redshirt plan comes to fruition in 2002. After back-to-back number-one recruiting classes in Conference USA, Dimel knows the Cougars need heavy contributions from the 2000 and 2001 classes. The newcomers (Class of 2002) are expected to be ready to play.

Even though this is his first stint at coaching college football in tradition-rich Texas, Dimel has come to know the state and its integral high school system after 10 years of recruiting the Lone Star State. In the last two years, he inked 40 student-athletes from the state of Texas, including 25 from the Greater Houston area. The Cougars Classes of 2001 and 2002 were rated as the best in Conference USA and the fourth best in the state of Texas, trailing only Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

Upon his arrival at Houston two years ago, Dimel stressed the importance of keeping Texas athletes in the state.

"In my years recruiting Texas, I had always aspired to be the head coach of a school in this state," said the 39-year-old Dimel. "This has been a career goal of mine, and now I have the chance. I know Houston is on the verge of being a great football program once again, and there is no reason why we cannot keep great players in this state and city at home. We will do whatever needs to be accomplished to be a champion again.

Prior to his first year at Houston, Dimel was one of only 10 current Division I-A head coaches to have won at least seven games in every year as a coach. He was also just one of 17 head coaches to have never suffered a losing season while at the helm of a I-A program, and when it came to winning, he was one of 19 coaches to win at least seven regular season games in each of the those three years.

The energetic and personable Dimel was one of the most successful young coaches in the nation through his three seasons at Wyoming. He led the Cowboys to eight wins in two of his three years, and his 23-12 (.657) record ranked as the second-best start of any Wyoming football coach in history.

In 1999 Dimel's Cowboys finished 7-4 in the Mountain West Conference's inaugural season and came within a game of sharing the league championship. The wide-open Cowboy offense averaged 400 yards of total offense and close to 30 points per game during the 1999 season.

A proponent of a high-octane offense and smothering defense, Dimel directed Wyoming to several key wins during his three seasons in Laramie, including 1999 victories against bowl-bound teams Utah (43-29) and BYU (31-17) in back-to-back weekends. Dimel also has defeated Iowa State, Hawaii, Colorado State and Air Force, as well as the Texas trifecta of Rice, SMU and TCU.

His second season at UW ended with his Cowboys ranked No. 25 in the final New York Times computer rankings. The Pokes' highest rankings during the 1998 season were: No. 12 by the New York Times , No. 25 by the USA Today/ ESPN coaches' poll and No. 25 by the Associated Press media poll.

In the 1998 campaign, Dimel led the Pokes to an 8-3 overall record, and a 6-2 mark in Western Athletic Conference play. Two of the three losses came at the hands of nationally-ranked teams- No. 10 ranked Air Force and No. 14 ranked Georgia. The '98 squad also posted a seven-game winning streak on its way to a second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division. In 1997, Wyoming posted an 8-5 record in a season that ran for 13 consecutive weeks- the longest in school history.

Named head coach on Dec. 7, 1996, by Wyoming Athletics Director Lee Moon, Dimel became the 28th head football coach at Wyoming. When he was hired, Dimel was the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I-A football.

Despite his youth, Dimel brought with him an impressive list of accomplishments in his relatively young career. As an assistant coach at Kansas State University of 10 seasons, he helped lead the Wildcats through their most successful era in school history. In fact, Sports Illustrated magazine called Kansas State "the biggest turnaround in college football history."

During Dimel's short time at UW, he brought a hard-nosed defensive style to the Cowboy Football program. In 1997, Wyoming ranked No.2 in the nation in quarterback sacks, No.6 in pass defense, No.17 in scoring defense and No. 23 in total defense. UW followed that up in '98 with a No.28 national rank in scoring defense.

Among the players who were key contributors to the resurgent Wyoming defense was 1997 Consensus All-American Brian Lee at free safety. Two other Cowboys also earned All-America recognition in '97-center Jay Korth and punter Aron Langley were both honorable mention selections.

Four Cowboy defenders earned First-Team All-Conference honors and five were named Second-Team All-Conference during Dimel's tenure at UW.

Offensively, the '98 campaign saw Marques Brigham rush for 1,114 yards on his way to first-team all-conference honors. Sophomore quarterback Jay Stoner was named second-team all-conference after ranking among the Top 40 quarterbacks in the nation in total offense and passing efficiency. In the Dimel era at Wyoming, four Poke offensive players garnered first-team all-league accolades, and three others were named to the second team. Two special teams Cowboys also were named to all-conference squads during the his last two seasons.

In addition to the number of Cowboys who've enjoyed success under his direction, Dimel had an outstanding history of developing players while at Kansas State. During his tenure with the Wildcats, the KSU offense featured All-Americans Chad May at quarterback, Barrett Brooks at offensive tackle, Andre Coleman at wide receiver, Jim Hmielewski at offensive tackle, Kevin Lockett at wide receiver, Matt Miller at quarterback, Quentin Neujahr at center, J.J. Smith at running back and Michael Smith at wide receiver. Quarterback May finished 11th in the 1994 Heisman Trophy balloting. In 1995, Miller set the Big 8 single-season record for most touchdown passes with 22.

The Kansas State offense also had the No.1 (Lockett) and No.3 (Michael Smith) leading receivers in the history of the Big 8 Conference during Dimel's time in Manhattan.

As offensive line coach at K-State, he tutored 11 offensive linemen who signed NFL contracts-many of which are still on NFL rosters. During his three seasons at Wyoming, 12 Cowboys signed NFL contracts.

His first year in Laramie, Dimel saw his Cowboys attract the largest crowd in War Memorial Stadium history when 34,745 turned out for the Colorado State game on Oct. 18, 1997. His Wyoming teams enjoyed great success at home, posting a 14-4 record.

At KSU, Dimel helped lead the Wildcats to the sixth-winningest home record in the nation during the 1990's and the third-best record among Big 12 teams from 1994-96. Season-ticket sales to Kansas State football games rose from 8,000 in 1989 to 34,000 in 1996-third best in the Big 12 Conference.

A two-year letterman as an offensive lineman for the Wildcats in 1985 and '86, he began his college playing career as a defensive tackle in 1984. After suffering an injury two games into the '84 season, he was awarded a medical hardship and played the next two seasons at offensive tackle. Dimel was named to the All-America Strength team as a senior at KSU, and was named K-State's Lifter of the Year in 1986.

He signed with the Minnesota Vikings out of college, attending camp in 1987.

Dimel completed his bachelor's degree in marketing at Kansas State in 1986. Prior to that he earned an associate of arts degree from Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, he has one son, Winston, who was born on his father's birthday of Oct. 9, 1995. He and his wife, Julie, were married in 1999 at War Memorial Stadium in Wyoming. The couple also has a daughter, Josie.

[CyberBull]

Guys....this would be a very interesting hire for a variety of reasons:

1. He is a good recruiter and has a lot contacts in the midwest and state of texas.

2. He has a strong history of developing players in both big and small program settings. See all the players he  helped develop at K-State and Wyoming. With all the young talent USF has on offense this is key.

3. All his K-State players thrived in an offense very similar to what Leavitt wants to employ at USF.

my $0.02

[CyberBull]

Dimel takes vacancy

as Wyoming's coach

JEREMY KELLEY

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Dimel  

yoming athletic director William Moon announced Saturday that Dana Dimel, K-State offensive coordinator, has been hired as Wyoming's new head football coach.

Dimel signed a five-year contract with the Cowboys.

"It's hard to explain how excited we are to attract an individual, and a football-caliber mind of Dana Dimel," Moon said.

Dimel is in his 10th season with the Wildcats and earned the offensive-coordinator spot after spending 1994 as running-game coordinator and offensive-line coach. Dimel has coached the offensive line that has led the way for two of K-State's 1,000-yard rushers -- Eric Gallon in 1991 and J.J. Smith in 1994.

"Obviously, to receive an opportunity to coach a program so well-respected nationally is a great honor and a dream come true," Dimel said. "I want to create a family relationship among the Cowboy fans, the state of Wyoming, and the players and coaches."

Dimel played as an offensive tackle for the Wildcats for three years and lettered in 1985 and 1986. After his success with K-State, he was drafted and signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 1987.

Wyoming's current coach, Joe Tiller, accepted a head-coaching job at the University of Purdue to begin next fall. Moon said Dimel earned the vacated spot because of his hard work.

"Not only is Dana a great guy and an outstanding football coach, but he is an overachiever, and at Wyoming we love overachievers," he said.

Dimel said he thought his experience at K-State would prove worthwhile in Wyoming.

"Kansas State runs an offense very similar to what Wyoming has been doing. We do a little more two-back, but basically we have a wide-open passing attack," he said. "At Kansas State we have been noted for defense, and we will certainly stress the defensive side of the ball."

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This item was published on Monday, December 9, 1996

[CyberBull]

Dimel to 'crank' things up as UH's new football coach

By Jason Caesar Consolacion

Staff Writer

New UH head football coach Dana Dimel promised to bring glory back to the Cougar football program at his introduction to the UH community Monday.

Dimel, who was announced as UH's ninth head coach Sunday, was formally introduced by President Arthur K. Smith and Athletics Director Chet Gladchuk at a press conference in the Athletics/Alumni Center.

"The leadership of the football program is in the hands of somebody that cares deeply about the tradition and the roots that are instilled into the University of Houston," Dimel said. "My job is to carry that on and to bring it back to the highest of its glory days that it had at one time."

Dimel agreed to a five-year, $600,000-per-year deal, plus bonuses and incentives. Half of the deal will come from a base salary of $300,000, with the other $300,000 coming from apparel sales, football camps and radio, television and personal appearances.

Dimel will also be compensated based on the team’s graduation rates, grade point averages, bowl appearances, top 25 rankings and Conference USA rankings.

UH will pay $200,000 to Wyoming for the remaining two years on Dimel's contract. This is in addition to the $600,000 UH owes Kim Helton, Dimel’s predecessor, for the final two years on his contract. Helton led the Cougars to a 7-4 record in his final season.

Dimel, the former offensive lineman for Kansas State, has been the head football coach at the University of Wyoming for the past three years. He compiled a 23-12 record from 1997 to 1999, going 7-4 this season.

"I believe our community will truly enjoy the incredible enthusiasm Dana brings to Houston," Gladchuk said. "As a proven Division I-A head coach who has enjoyed unquestioned success at Wyoming, I believe we can expect to win at Houston, both in the classroom and on the playing field."

Dimel got his start as an offensive line coach, then as an offensive coordinator under Bill Snyder at Kansas State University. He assisted Snyder in coaching "the biggest turnaround in college sports"  the Kansas State Wildcats.

He was hired for his first job as a head coach at the University of Wyoming, where he became the coach with the second most wins in the past three years of college football.

Dimel's plan for Houston is to begin recruiting exclusively in Texas. Questions regarding whether the Kansas State alum is capable of delivering Texas recruits are answered by his track record: Dimel had 18 players from Texas on this year’s Wyoming roster.

"The main thing that I want to do is recruit Texas," Dimel said. "If I can get 18 players on my ball club from Texas to come up to Laramie, Wyo., I don't see why I can't get Texas players to come here."

Dimel, 37, is expected to lead the Cougars to winning right away. With his youth, he believes he can relate to the players closely, enabling him to instill the confidence that it takes to win.

"I think the youth that I have is definitely a positive for me because of energy and because I can relate to these kids and understand what’s going through their minds and understand what motivates them," Dimel said. "To me, motivation is a key ingredient in getting the most out of your players."

Dimel is prepared to make major changes within the football team  not only on the field, but also in personnel.

"We’re going to hire an offensive coordinator from Nevada-Reno," he said. "That school has been the most prolific passing offense in the country over the last five years. They’ve had quarterbacks throw for 4,000 yards within the system."

Dimel also plans to bring back key components from the Cougars' glory days.

"I visited with (former UH quarterback and 1989 Heisman Trophy winner) Andre Ware (Monday) morning, and I believe that he is going to join our staff," Dimel said. "Since we're using his hardware (Ware’s 1989 Heisman Trophy) as a tool for recruiting, I thought it was only fitting that he be a part of what we're going to do.

"Nothing official has been made of that," Dimel said, "but he said I could mention (Monday) that he is leaning toward being a part of this."

The players have expressed their excitement in Dimel’s hiring, especially quarterback Jason McKinley, who will be a senior next year.

"He's going to improve our discipline, he’s going to improve our work ethic, and I think the team is really excited about it," McKinley said. "We haven't even left for Christmas yet, and I think everybody's already excited about getting back and working."

McKinley will be expected to lead an offense that will feature him as its main focus. Dimel's offensive scheme at Wyoming was one that included a lot of passing, and Dimel expects McKinley to adjust.

"Jason's a great quarterback and a great kid," Dimel said. "He's going to be able to do what we’re going to ask him to do. He's going to have to. We’re not going to accept losing. We're going to expect to win, and Jason's going to lead us in that direction."

"He seems really positive," McKinley said. "He wants to throw the ball, he wants to pressure (opponents) on defense. It's going to be a real exciting game. It's going to be a game that people will want to come to watch.

"I'm excited that he's not coming here wanting to rebuild," McKinley said. "He wants to win next year. He's talking about going to a bowl game next year and he's not going to take anything less than that."

Dimel's first task will be to see whether he can sign players by the junior college signing period, which ends today.

The new UH head football coach will also be expected to achieve something Helton was never able to do: filling the stands at Robertson Stadium.

"The thing that will get the fans back more than anything will be winning," Dimel said. "Everybody loves a winner. Once we start winning each and every Saturday on a consistent basis, then the fans will start coming back."

"I know Houston is on the verge of being a great football program once again," Dimel said. "There is no reason why we cannot keep great players in this state and city at home. We will do whatever needs to be accomplished to be a champion again.

"I'm an ex-offensive lineman, and my nature of how I get things done is I'm a grinder," he said. "That means I'm going to be in the office grinding it out, and I'm going to be on the recruiting trail grinding it out.

"There's no reason why we can't get this thing crankin', so that’s my promise to you. We're going to get it crankin'. There’s no doubt in my mind."

[S p e n c e]

It seems he would be a good fit, but I don't remember seeing his name among those in the running for the job.  Is he actually in the running?  

[CyberBull]

Sources said candidates to replace Hobbie include: USF running backs coach Carl Franks, a former Duke coach and Florida's assistant offensive coordinator from 1995-98; USF quarterbacks coach Rod Smith; West Virginia offensive coordinator Calvin Magee, a USF assistant from 1996-2000; and former Houston and Wyoming coach Dana Dimel, now a Kansas State graduate assistant, who worked with Leavitt at KSU in the 1990s.

http://bulls.tbo.com/bulls/MGBUXBYJP7E.html

COACHING CAROUSEL: If Jim Leavitt goes outside his staff to find his new offensive coordinator, one name to remember is Dana Dimel, the former Wyoming and Houston coach who returned to Kansas State as a grad assistant in February. Dimel, 42, was on the same Bill Snyder staff as Leavitt at K-State from 1990-95 and the two have remained close friends.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/04/20/Sports/Spring_game_turnout_n.shtml

[S p e n c e]

He seems like a great candidate.  I don't know much about McGee from WVU, but a huge upside to him is he has Big East experience.  He knows all the defenses, thier strategies, gameplans and so on.  I think this may play a big factor in his consideration for the opening.  

I know it has been said there has been no "timetable" set to hire a replacement, but I would think realistically it would have to be soon, within the next few weeks.  Any rumblings as to when the job may be filled?

[GarySJ]

Can USF afford Dimel? An OC with that kind of experience ought to carry a fair price tag.

[USFDan]

I think Dimel would be a great hire.  He currently is just a Grad Assistant at KSU.  Maybe we bring him in as rb coach and promote Franks.  Either way Dimal and Franks running the show together would be huge.  I don't see either as long term here.  They both might one day leave to be an OC or HC at another program.