Former Kansas State star offensive lineman and longtime coach Dana Dimel passed away Tuesday at the age of 62, his family announced. He is survived by his wife, Julie, and children, Winston and Josey.
Dimel served three stints on Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder’s staff across 20 years at K-State which followed an All-America playing career as an offensive tackle for the Wildcats from 1984-86.
He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in Manhattan in 1987-88 leading into eight seasons (1989-96) as an assistant coach. He returned to K-State for one season in 2005 and then returned to K-State for the third time and spent nine seasons (2009-17) as the program’s offensive coordinator and running backs/tight ends coach.
“Obviously, we are very saddened by the passing of Dana,” Snyder said in a statement. “He was a special friend and coaching companion. I admired his passion for helping his players and fellow coaches. He was a big part of the development of the Kansas State football program, and along with his wife Julie, very meaningful in the Manhattan community.”
Overall Dimel was a part of 12 bowl teams during 19 seasons in Manhattan. The Wildcats posted an 11-win season (2012) with a Big 12 Championship, two 10-win campaigns (1995 and 2011) and five nine-win seasons (1993, 1994, 1996, 2014, and 2016) during that span, and finished in the top-25 of the BCS and CFP rankings on three occasions – 2011 (No. 8 BCS), 2012 (No. 5 BCS), and 2014 (No. 11 CFP).
Dimel spent the 2024 season on former Wildcat assistant Bret Bielema’s staff at Illinois.
“Today is a difficult day for college football and our Illini famILLy,” Bielema said in a statement from Illinois. “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.”
Dimel, a Columbus, Ohio, native, compiled the most wins of any active offensive coordinator in college football from 2011-17 (61) and was a part of eight straight bowl appearances. Overall, in his 32 seasons as a head or assistant coach, Dimel mentored 37 players who went on to play in the NFL.
In addition to his time at K-State, Dimel had successful head coaching stops at Wyoming (1997-1999), Houston (2000-2002) and UTEP (2018-2023).
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dimel family during this difficult time” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. “Dana not only had a big impact on K-State Football but more importantly the lives of the players, coaches and staff he interacted with daily – some of which are still in our program today.”
Dimel’s legacy on the field are best remembered by his innovative offensive playcalling, notabilty stacking the offensive box with his “clown car” formation — a trend that made it to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles tush push.
Dimel’s son, Winston, was a standout athlete at Manhattan High School before becoming a a three-time All-Big 12 performer who was a valuable fullback in addition to being a weapon out of the backfield.
He transferred to UTEP with his dad for his senior season. Professionally, Winston Dimel was signed to the Seahawks practice squad in 2019 before bouncing across other professional leagues.
Dana Dimel passed in his sleep on Tuesday night. His loss is felt across the country.
“The day started with a phone call bringing the sad news of Dana Dimel’s passing. I just want to say that when Dana was here, he was a good friend,” K-State women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie said. “…It was heartbreaking. Dana was too young, and it’s a loss that came far too soon. My prayers go out to his family. Dana was a man with a great passion for young people, coaching and the community in Manhattan.”
Mittie added he knew Dimel during his time at Houston as Mittie was coaching in Conference USA at the time, in addition to family connections.
“We had mutual friends and he coached with my brother-in-law, Brad Seib, when Brad was here,” Mitte said. “Over the years, even when I wasn’t at Kansas State, Dana was someone we often talked about.”
