Longtime K-State coach Dana Dimel passed away on Tuesday, according to his family. He was 62.
Dimel spent 20 years on the coaching staff at K-State under head coach Bill Snyder. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1987 following three seasons as an offensive linemen from 1984-86 with the Wildcats where he was an All-American.
He then moved to offensive line coach in 1989. Most recently, Dimel was an senior offensive assistant at Illinois under head coach Bret Bielema after spending the previous six seasons as the head coach at UTEP.
After leaving K-State in the mid-90s, Dimel was head coach at Wyoming and Houston for three seasons each from 1997-2002. He then returned to K-State in 2005 as a graduate assistant again and then in 2009 was named offensive coordinator for the second time under Snyder, remaining with the program until 2017.
In Manhattan, Dimel was instrumental in the four straight Top 20 finishes in the early-to-mid 90s as well as the team’s success in 2011 and 2012 under quarterback Collin Klein where the Wildcats went 21-5 and won the Big 12 championship in 2012 and made it to the Fiesta Bowl.
Dimel is survived by his wife Julie and his two children – Winston and Josey.
