Illinois assistant coach Dana Dimel died Tuesday morning. He was 62.
Dimel, a longtime college football coach who was a head coach at three different schools, died in his sleep according to his agent. Dimel served as an offensive assistant at Illinois.
“Today is a difficult day for college football and our Illini family,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said in a statement. “Dana was an extraordinary person, husband, father, friend and football coach. He touched the lives of countless coaches, players and staff over three decades in college football. His impact on our program was incredible. His infectious positive energy had an impact on me, our players and everyone in our building every day, our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family.
Dimel joined the Illinois staff after a six-year stint as UTEP’s head coach. The Miners were 20-49 during his tenure and went to one bowl game during his tenure. That came in 2021 when UTEP finished 7-6 after losing in the New Mexico Bowl.
Dimel started as a graduate assistant at Kansas State and worked his way up through the ranks with the Wildcats under Bill Snyder. Dimel was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator for two seasons in 1995 and 1996 before landing his first head coaching job at Wyoming.
He coached the Cowboys for three seasons and had a 22-13 record with the school. After a 7-4 season in 1999, Dimel became the head coach at Houston. The Cougars went just 8-26 in Dimel’s three seasons there and went 0-11 in 2001.
Dimel rejoined the Kansas State staff in 2005 and returned in 2009 after three years at Arizona. He was the Wildcats’ offensive coordinator for nine more seasons before getting the UTEP job. Dimel led the Kansas State offense when current Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein finished third in the Heisman voting behind the Aggies’ Johnny Manziel and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o.
Illinois finished the 2024 regular season 9-3 and will have a chance to win its 10th bowl game. It’s the most successful season for the Illini since they won nine games in 2007, and a bowl victory would give Illinois its first 10-win season since 2001.