Potential coaching candidates for UTEP football

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – UTEP fired head football coach Dana Dimel on Sunday after six seasons with the Miners, leaving a vacancy at the helm of the program for the first time since 2017.

Dimel went 20-49 in his time at UTEP, leading the Miners to just one winning season, in 2021 when UTEP went 7-6 and narrowly lost to Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl.

UTEP parts ways with Dana Dimel after six seasons

The Miners went 3-9 in Dimel’s final season at UTEP, but the cupboard is far from bare. There’s a reason that preseason expectations were so high and injuries decimated the team in 2023. There’s plenty of talent and experience coming back for the next coach to potentially succeed early on. Additionally, Jerry Kill’s success at New Mexico State proves that winning can happen in the Borderland in 2023.

UTEP will need to improve its NIL, as there is currently no collective for the football program. Dimel was set to make $850,000 in the final year of his contract in 2024, but UTEP may need to be prepared to pay its next head coach over $1 million next season to compete with other Group of 5 schools looking for coaches.

Additionally, expect UTEP to move quickly in order to have a new head coach in place by next Monday, Dec. 4, the day the transfer portal opens, so the Miners can optimize recruiting.

Make no mistake: this hire is pivotal for UTEP athletic director Jim Senter. With his own contract up in 2026, the fate of who Senter hires to coach the football program next will be directly tied to Senter and his job may depend on nailing this hire.

With that in mind, who would be some quality candidates for UTEP to consider for its next head coach? Senter typically has a type when it comes to making coaching hires: Power 5 conference assistants, or up-and-coming head coaches from lower levels.

KTSM dove into some of names that might earn consideration from UTEP and Senter. In no particular order, here are some coaches that might draw interest and fit the bill.

Tony White, Nebraska defensive coordinator: An El Paso native and Burges alum, White has risen up the coaching ranks and his Nebraska defense ranked in the Top-15 of FBS football this year. White will get plenty of interest; his name has been thrown around for job openings like San Diego State and Syracuse. Could White instead be swayed to come turn around his hometown team? Sources told KTSM that he’s interested.

Jeff Grimes, former Baylor offensive coordinator: Grimes also has El Paso ties, having played at UTEP and started his coaching career at Riverside High School. He has almost 30 years of coaching experience but has never been a head coach. Baylor’s struggles this year (3-9) led to Grimes getting fired on Sunday, which may eliminate him from contention for the UTEP job. However, sources have told KTSM that Grimes is indeed interested in being the Miners’ next coach.

Jason Eck, Idaho head coach: If Eck isn’t well-known to college football fans, he should be. He took over an Idaho program in 2022 that hadn’t had a winning season since 2016 and has promptly gone 15-8 in two years with back-to-back trips to the FCS Playoffs. In 2023, he’s 8-3 and the Vandals clinched the 4-seed in the FCS Playoffs. Jim Senter has Idaho ties; he’s worked there on three separate occasions and still keeps close tabs on the Vandals. Keep Eck in mind for UTEP, even though he’s never coached in the state of Texas. If he can recruit to Moscow, he can recruit to El Paso.

Mack Leftwich, Texas State offensive coordinator: This is a name that UTEP fans will know well and sources told KTSM that Leftwich would love to return to El Paso. The former Miners quarterback has swiftly risen up the coaching ranks and is regarded as one of the best young offensive minds in college football. At just 29 years old, Leftwich helped Incarnate Word to the FCS Semifinals in 2022, putting up 57 points per game, then has helped Texas State to a 7-5 season and the program’s first-ever bowl berth. At 29, he might be too young for Senter’s liking, but Ben Wallis is the corollary here and he’s been Senter’s most successful hire with the UTEP volleyball program.

Jeff Banks, Texas special teams coordinator: Banks was a staff member at UTEP from 2004-2012 under Mike Price and is widely considered to be the best special teams coordinator in America. Banks makes $1.1 million per season at Texas and has been considered for Power 5 jobs in the past. With that in mind, he seems like a long shot for UTEP, since he might make more money per season by staying at UT. Still, it’s worth the call.

Zach Kittley, Texas Tech offensive coordinator: Like Leftwich, Kittley is very young (32 years old), but is a bright offensive mind in college football. He’s been an offensive coordinator since the 2018 season at Houston Baptist, Western Kentucky and now Texas Tech and his teams have always been explosive offensively. He’s also known as a strong developer of quarterbacks and worked with Patrick Mahomes when he was a graduate assistant at Texas Tech. His name isn’t as hot as it’s been in previous years, but quarterback injuries hampered the Red Raiders this season. Kittley could be in the mix at UTEP.

Emmett Jones, Oklahoma passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach: Jones played one season as a wide receiver at UTEP in 1996 and has risen up the coaching ranks over the last few seasons. He’s coached at the high school level in Texas, so he understands the recruiting game in the Lone Star State. Two separate stints at Texas Tech also means he knows the lay of the land in west Texas.

Scotty Walden, Austin Peay head coach: Walden played a year of college football at Sul Ross and at 34 years old, he’s led Austin Peay to back-to-back winning seasons and the FCS Playoffs in 2023. He also served as Southern Miss’s interim head coach in 2020, after he was the co-offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020.

Robert Rodriguez, Arizona Cardinals outside linebackers coach: The Montwood and UTEP legend will surely be a favorite of fans for the job. Now with the Arizona Cardinals, Rodriguez spent 2020-2022 at Arizona State under Herm Edwards. Rodriguez has never been a head coach or even a coordinator at any level, though, which could work against him here.

Brennan Marion, UNLV offensive coordinator: UTEP fans saw firsthand what Marion can do when the Running Rebels beat the Miners 45-28 in September, rolling up 497 total yards and over 300 on the ground. He’s helped UNLV to a 9-3 2023 season, one of the best in recent memory in Las Vegas. At 36 years old, Marion’s name has been in the mix other places already. He reportedly already interviewed at San Diego State for the Aztecs’ head coaching opening and has been mentioned as a possibility to be Arkansas’s new OC. Keep Marion in mind.

Gary Patterson, former TCU head coach: If UTEP can swing Patterson, it has the potential to be a Mike Price or Jerry Kill-esque hire for the Miners. Patterson built TCU into a powerhouse during his time in Fort Worth and reports are that he would like to get back into coaching. It’s unclear if UTEP could offer him enough to come to El Paso, though, and his name is being mentioned for other openings, including New Mexico. Bottomline: Patterson and the next guy on the list feel like long shots.

Jimbo Fisher, former Texas A&M head coach: Sure, why not? He’s not doing anything right now; might as well give him a call just to check.

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