Former Houston and UTEP coach Dana Dimel, most recently an offensive assistant at Illinois, died Tuesday. Dimel’s agent, Pete Roussel, confirmed Dimel died in his sleep. He was 62.
Dimel was a longtime assistant coach for Bill Snyder at Kansas State, working his way up from being a graduate assistant to multiple stints as Snyder’s offensive coordinator. The former Kansas State offensive lineman spent 1987-96 at Kansas State under Snyder and returned again in 2005 and 2009. He got his first head-coaching opportunity at Wyoming in 1997, compiling a 22-13 record before taking over the Houston program.
His longest head-coaching stint came at UTEP where Dimel went 20-49 over six seasons. A highlight came in 2021 when Dimel led the Miners to a 7-6 record and New Mexico bowl appearance. He joined Bret Bielema’s Illinois staff in July as a senior offensive assistant and helped the Fighting Illini to a 9-3 record this past season.
“Today is a difficult day for college football and our Illini famILLy,” Bielema said in a statement. “Dana was an exceptional person, husband, father, friend, and football coach. He affected the lives of countless coaches, players, and staff members for more than three decades in college football. His influence on our program was incredible to witness and be a part of. His infectious positive energy had a major impact on me, our players, and everyone in our building every day. He will be dearly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family.”
