EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Following a 2023 season that began with high expectations and ended with a whimper at 3-9, UTEP parted ways with head football coach Dana Dimel on Sunday, sources confirmed to KTSM. ESPN first reported the news.
Dimel’s firing was done with one year remaining on his contract; he signed a two-year contract extension after the 2021 season. UTEP will owe Dimel a buyout payment of $667,292 in exchange for cutting him loose a season early.
Sources told KTSM this week that there was extensive pressure on UTEP athletic director Jim Senter, internally, externally and from UTEP boosters to make the move with one year left on Dimel’s deal.
The decision comes after Dimel spent six seasons with the Miners, trying to rebuild a program that went 0-12 in 2017, the season before he was hired. In his six seasons at UTEP, the Miners went 20-49 under Dimel.
Dimel rebuilt the Miners program from scratch and after back-to-back 1-11 seasons in 2018 and 2019, UTEP showed improvement in 2020, going 3-5 during the COVID-19 season.
The 2021 campaign was UTEP’s best season under the former Kansas State offensive coordinator. The Miners opened the season 6-1, eventually finishing 7-6 with a close loss to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.
Expectations for the program were very high following the 2021 season, but UTEP’s inability to live up to them in 2022 and 2023 is what ultimately doomed Dimel.
The Miners went 5-7 in 2022, narrowly missing out on a trip to a bowl game for a second consecutive season. 2023 was thought to be Dimel’s best team at UTEP, given the amount of talent and experience Dimel’s coaching staff had stockpiled and there were hopes of a potential run at a Conference USA championship.
Instead, the Miners fell flat – due in part to a slough of injuries to key players – and finished the season 3-9. Questions about Dimel’s future began swirling after a 1-5 start to the season.
A national search for UTEP’s next head football coach is expected to begin immediately. Early National Signing Day is slated for Dec. 20, so whoever UTEP hires will need to move quickly in recruiting to convince current Miners to stick around and recruit new players to the program.
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