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Published Wednesday, November 23, 2005
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Dimel applies for Kansas State job[/SIZE]
By Tim Bisel
The Capital-Journal Dana Dimel knows the challenges the next
Kansas State football coach will face, perhaps as well as anyone.
And he would love to face them.
Dimel, a 1986 K-State graduate, formally applied for the position on Tuesday, three days after Bill Snyder coached the last game of his illustrious 17-year career.
"Right now, I feel like I have so much ownership in this program," Dimel said.
He should. Dimel played along K-State's offensive line in 1985 and 1986, then served on staff at his alma mater from 1987-96, including the last eight seasons under Snyder when the program was transformed from perennial doormat to perennial power.
After a pair of three-year head coaching stints at Wyoming and Houston, Dimel was out of coaching in 2003 and
2004 before accepting a graduate assistant position at K-State earlier this year.
"The good thing I have is knowing this university and knowing this program and knowing what type of players can be successful in this program," he said. "That's a real huge ingredient here because we all know this is a different place and it's a different time following a legend like Coach Snyder.
"To understand what needs to be done here is a crucial aspect of this hire, so those are some of the important things that I think I bring to the table."
The biggest knock on Dimel, 43, is that he was fired by Houston after going just 8-26 from 2000-02. However, his ouster followed a change in athletic directors, and some university supporters said they thought Dimel should have been allowed to finish his five-year contract after leading the Cougars to a 5-7 record in 2002.
Before landing in Houston, Dimel coached Wyoming to a 23-12 mark from 1997-99.
Dimel is the second member of Snyder's staff to publicly announce he wants the K-State job. Offensive coordinator Del Miller also has expressed interest.
Elsewhere, TCU coach Gary Patterson on Tuesday agreed to a four-year contract extension that would keep him in Fort Worth through 2012. Patterson accepted his deal on the same day his team accepted an invitation to play in the Houston Bowl on Dec. 31.
Patterson has been mentioned as a candidate for the K-State job, in large part because he is a 1981 K-State graduate and former graduate assistant for the Wildcats.
Patterson has a record of 42-18 in five seasons at TCU, including a 10-1 mark and No. 15 ranking this season.
South Florida also is working on a new deal for coach Jim Leavitt, another possible candidate with ties to K-State.
"We're trying to work on a scenario to have Jim here for a long time if he wants to be," USF athletic director Jim Woolard told the Tampa Tribune, without specifying terms of the package.
According to a survey of athletic directors conducted by the Tampa Tribune, Leavitt's annual salary of $542,000 ranks as the fourth-lowest among the 66 BCS coaches. His current contract runs through 2009 and includes a buyout clause of only $50,000.
Leavitt was an assistant at K-State from 1990-95. He has a record of 61-36 since starting the South Florida program from scratch in 1996.
The Bulls are 6-3 this season, their first as a member of the Big East Conference. With wins over Connecticut and No. 12 West Virginia, they would win the league title and earn an automatic bid to a BCS bowl.
