Former UTEP football coach Dana Dimel hired at Illinois as senior offensive assistant

Dana Dimel is heading to Illinois.

UTEP's former football coach, released after last season , is taking a job as Illinois' senior offensive assistant. Dimel was head coach at UTEP from 2018-23 and led the team to the New Mexico Bowl in 2021 before back-to-back losing seasons led to a coaching change to Scotty Walden.

"We are so excited to bring Dana, and his long history of experiences throughout his career, to Illinois," Illinois head coach Bret Bielema said. "He will be a great voice and another experienced coach on our staff."

"My family and I are very much looking forward to joining Coach Bielema," Dimel said. "He is an outstanding football coach and leader and I have always admired how his teams play the game. We can't wait to start working with the talented staff to help the program and players reach high levels of success."

Illinois is coming off a 5-7 season when it contended for a bowl into the final week of the regular season.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Former UTEP football coach Dana Dimel hired at Illinois as senior offensive assistant