UTEP football coaching job pluses, minuses and candidates after Dana Dimels firing

May 2024 · 7 minute read

UTEP needs a new head coach. The school fired Dana Dimel on Sunday after the Miners completed a 3-9 season.

Dimel went 20-48 in six seasons with the Miners. He took over a winless program and reached a bowl game in Year 4, finishing 7-6. But that was his lone bowl season. 

So how good is the UTEP job? What names could get in the mix? Here are some factors to keep in mind. 

This is historically a very difficult job, but it provides patience

UTEP has reached one bowl game since 2015 and just three since 2006. It has more seasons with two or fewer wins in that stretch (four) than bowl seasons. It hasn’t won eight games in a season since Mike Price did it twice in 2004 and 2005.

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But because of that (admittedly rough) history, coaches have gotten time. Dimel got six years. Sean Kugler before him got more than four. Price spent nine years there.

It’s in Texas, but it’s not close to the recruiting hotspots

A fun fact about El Paso is that it’s nearly as close to San Diego as it is to Dallas. This is as far west in Texas as it gets. Recruiting in West Texas is also not nearly as good as it used to be. The talent has dried up a bit out there compared to the past.

UTEP still has 64 Texas natives on its current roster, but it also has 27 Californians. Under Dimel, UTEP was always at or near the bottom of Conference USA’s recruiting rankings.

Just in case it’s completely dark at kickoff, here’s a glimpse of what makes the Sun Bowl’s setting so special 🌅 pic.twitter.com/jiFn8i8j31

— College Football Campus Tour (@CFBcampustour) October 19, 2023

The facilities remain behind

The Sun Bowl Stadium underwent a recent renovation to improve the concourse and luxury boxes, but it remains an old stadium. There is no indoor practice field, leaving the team at the whims of the elements. There is no football-specific operations building, either. All this in a state where many high schools have indoor practice fields.

New Mexico State’s recent success shows it’s not impossible

This area is one of the most desolate in terms of where FBS football is present. UTEP and NMSU are only 40 minutes apart and now share the same conference. NMSU hadn’t done much of anything for decades, but it’s now a nine-win team heading to a second bowl game is as many seasons under Jerry Kill. That’s a reason for hope. Winning out here can be done.

So what names could get in the mix?

Here are some potential names to keep in mind, based on conversations with industry sources.

Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is a former Miner — playing there from 1987 to 1990 — and has coached all over the country. He was a Broyles Award finalist for the nation’s best assistant coach as BYU offensive coordinator in 2020 and at Baylor in 2021, when the Bears went on to win the Big 12. But things have turned south quickly in Waco, and changes are expected there. UTEP would be a sensible landing spot.

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Kansas State assistant head coach Van Malone is a Houston native who has spent most of his career in Texas or the Great Plains. He joined K-State as cornerbacks coach in 2019 and added assistant head coach/pass game coordinator duties the next year. The Wildcats won the Big 12 last year and have finished in the top four in yards per play allowed in the Big 12 for each of the past three years.

Texas State offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich is a former UTEP quarterback and student assistant from 2013 to ’16. He helped direct an Incarnate Word offense that led the FCS in scoring last year (50.1 points per game) and is a Broyles Award nominee this season. He’s only 29 years old, but he knows UTEP and he’s been around some impressive offensive coaches in Eric Morris and GJ Kinne.

Idaho head coach Jason Eck has turned the Vandals from a losing team into a top-five FCS program, currently 8-3 and ranked No. 4 in Eck’s second season. Eck has spent most of his career in the Upper Midwest, but current UTEP athletic director Jim Senter is a former coach and administrator at Idaho, as well as a former AD at Idaho State, so that connection could put Eck on the radar.

Valdosta State head coach Tremaine Jackson is a Houston native who has coached at several schools in Texas and is 27-10 as a head coach. Jackson went 10-3 in two seasons at Colorado Mesa, and he’s 12-1 in his second season at Valdosta State, currently in the Division II playoffs. Jackson has served as an assistant at Texas State, Abilene Christian, Texas Southern, Trinity Valley CC and Texas A&M-Kingsville within the state.

Texas-Permian Basin head coach Kris McCullough is only 28 years old but he’s 19-5 as a head coach, and he’s currently coaching in West Texas and in the UT system at the D-II level. McCullough took East Central (Okla.) to 9-3 after being promoted from offensive coordinator, the program’s best record since moving up to NCAA status, and the 10-2 record at UTPB this year with a Lone Star Conference championship was easily the best season in school history. He’s got a top-five offense in D-II, and this could be a change-of-pace type of move.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

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Would former TCU head coach Gary Patterson be interested? He’s itching to get back in, and he and Kill worked together at the end of Patterson’s TCU tenure. But are there enough resources here to make it interesting enough? Patterson was a legend at TCU and has a statue after a 181-79 record, including seven top-10 finishes. He also regularly recruited the third-best classes in the Big 12 behind Texas and Oklahoma. But he posted a losing record in two of his last three seasons and wasn’t too interested in the NIL and transfer portal world. Are there enough resources at UTEP to entice him?

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Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn has been at OK State since 2011 and has coached all over the west, including stints at Baylor, TCU, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington State and Idaho. Despite losing several key receivers to injury, this year’s Cowboys team is 36th nationally in passing yards per game, and OSU will face Texas for the Big 12 championship next weekend.

Austin Peay head coach Scotty Walden is a Texas native and played some of his college ball in the western part of the state. He’s 26-14 at Austin Peay, including a 9-3 record and a FCS playoff appearance this year. The 34-year-old also went 7-3 as East Texas Baptist’s head coach in 2016 and 1-3 as Southern Miss interim head coach in 2020.

Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley is from Abilene and the 32-year-old has spent most of his career in Texas, working at Texas Tech, Houston Baptist and Western Kentucky. As WKU’s offensive coordinator in 2021, his quarterback Bailey Zappe broke the NCAA records with 5,967 passing yards and 62 touchdowns.

Oklahoma analyst Matt Wells had a successful 44-34 run as Utah State’s head coach from 2013-18, winning at least nine games three times. He helped develop Jordan Love into an NFL quarterback and had a 5-3 record in his third season at Texas Tech before he was fired.

Texas Tech associate head coach Kenny Perry is loved by Texas high school coaches as a former one himself, and he’s Joey McGuire’s right-hand man. Perry has also coached at SMU, Kansas and TCU over the past decade.

Oklahoma wide receivers coach Emmett Jones almost got the Kansas job a few years ago. Also a former Texas high school coach, he spent five years at Texas Tech since 2015, working at Kansas in between those stints.

Arizona State running backs coach Ra’Shaad Samples has made a quick rise at 28 years old. One of the best recruiters in Texas, and the son of a legendary Texas high school coach, Samples has coached at Houston, Texas and SMU and spent 2022 as the Los Angeles Rams running backs coach.

(Top photo: Sam Wasson / Getty Images)

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