Dimel wasn't exactly on the beaten path at Wyoming, although years ago some coaches there had winning records. I'm sure his budget was similar to what ours is today. Of course there aren't any hs players in that state.
I see UTEP as similar to Kansas State - pedestrian school in the middle of nowhere, nothing really to recruit to; yet they are in contention year in and out. Maybe he has matured and can bring some of that magic with him to west texas. He certainly had a great mentor at K S.

(12-06-2017 10:35 PM)davidw Wrote:  Dimel wasn't exactly on the beaten path at Wyoming, although years ago some coaches there had winning records. I'm sure his budget was similar to what ours is today. Of course there aren't any hs players in that state.
I see UTEP as similar to Kansas State - pedestrian school in the middle of nowhere, nothing really to recruit to; yet they are in contention year in and out. Maybe he has matured and can bring some of that magic with him to west texas. He certainly had a great mentor at K S.

Not really sure what UTEP is consistently in contention for, as they haven’t been consistently good since the early 2000s. UTEP is a really tough job give the location and lack of recruiting nearby.

The last time that UTEP defeated a traditional P5 team was in the 1967 Sun Bowl, when the Miners beat Mississippi. (I am not counting victories over WAC level TCU, Utah, and Arizona).

W*, when he said ‘they’ are in contention he meant KState. (Through I had to reread it to catch that.)

I imagine we'll be rated much higher than UTEP when pundits give out grades to all the offseason coaching hires.

(12-07-2017 01:13 AM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  The last time that UTEP defeated a traditional P5 team was in the 1967 Sun Bowl, when the Miners beat Mississippi. (I am not counting victories over WAC level TCU, Utah, and Arizona).

Wow. I thought the Rice streak versus Texas (which is now again over 20 years) was bad, but I didn't realize UTEP's football history was that bad.

(12-07-2017 06:42 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I imagine we'll be rated much higher than UTEP when pundits give out grades to all the offseason coaching hires.

They (CBS Sports anyway) already have.

(12-07-2017 06:14 AM)owl at the moon Wrote:  W*, when he said ‘they’ are in contention he meant KState. (Through I had to reread it to catch that.)

Correct. Thx for pointing that out. K State obviously plays tough football, much like the current version of Iowa State.

I'm not going to break it down, but suffice it to say that UTEP has always been a very tough job, and I don't see that changing for the foreseeable future.

That said, there are two reasons that UTEP should be able to have some good years here and there:

1. They can recruit anyone. I don't mean that as a slam. That is just a fact.
2. The Sun Bowl is actually a rather pleasant place to play a football game, especially at dusk. And UTEP has a somewhat unique and attractive campus.

El Paso is an outpost, and UTEP had the perfect man for that school in Don Haskins. UTEP is not going to find another Haskins for basketball, so the AD will have to come up with other ways for the school to do well in revenue sports. I think the right mid-level coach can win some football games at UTEP, but I also don't think Dimel is the right coach.

(Also, like Tim Floyd said on his way out, UTEP should be in the MWC. It is not about entitlement; that conference is simply a natural fit for UTEP. UTEP was a pillar of the MWC's true predecessor, the pre-Rice WAC.)

His Houston teams were not that impressive.

(12-06-2017 05:40 PM)Baconator Wrote:  

(12-06-2017 05:31 PM)dragon2owl Wrote:  UTEP Names Dana Dimel Head Football Coach.

omg

(12-07-2017 01:28 PM)Wiessman Wrote:  I'm not going to break it down, but suffice it to say that UTEP has always been a very tough job, and I don't see that changing for the foreseeable future.

That said, there are two reasons that UTEP should be able to have some good years here and there:

1. They can recruit anyone. I don't mean that as a slam. That is just a fact.
2. The Sun Bowl is actually a rather pleasant place to play a football game, especially at dusk. And UTEP has a somewhat unique and attractive campus.

El Paso is an outpost, and UTEP had the perfect man for that school in Don Haskins. UTEP is not going to find another Haskins for basketball, so the AD will have to come up with other ways for the school to do well in revenue sports. I think the right mid-level coach can win some football games at UTEP, but I also don't think Dimel is the right coach.

(Also, like Tim Floyd said on his way out, UTEP should be in the MWC. It is not about entitlement; that conference is simply a natural fit for UTEP. UTEP was a pillar of the MWC's true predecessor, the pre-Rice WAC.)

Kugler had a firm grasp of those two points. In the C-USA preseason media conference, he said that the toughest part of coaching at UTEP was getting recruits all the way out to El Paso to see campus; from there, it's easy. He obviously couldn't build a complete problem, though.

I remember that, I think it was at the 2015 conference championship game/festivities, the MWC considered UTEP for invitation by request of some of the current members, and JK had formally asked them to consider Rice as well. It obviously didn't go anywhere; I don't think it even got to an official vote. I think UTEP is running into issues of comparison with NMSU. They're not far from each other, and while El Paso is more of a city than Las Cruces, the athletics have been quite similar over the past 20 years. If NMSU didn't cut it for the post-WAC MWC, UTEP is looking at an uphill battle.

I think there's a few possibilities:

1. Status quo; MWC chooses not to expand.
2. MWC decides it wants UTEP, and NMSU comes along to even the divisions. There's nobody else more geographically consistent except members of the PAC (only in their wildest dreams) and the Big Sky (surprisingly united as a conference, though Idaho may be willing come back up for a MWC offer). Independent NMSU would take nearly any offer the MWC gives to get back to the table.
3. MWC decides it wants UTEP, and Rice becomes their new TCU. This looks much more feasible than three weeks ago, but let's see Bloomgren coach a few games before declaring this even moderately likely. Recall that TCU's MWC was much more "mountain" and less "west" than today's version, so flights to the Central Time Zone are a bigger hassle for non-revenue sports than previously.
4. Hawai'i drops football, and the MWC backfills with either Rice or UTEP. They might make a pass at SMU or Houston, but I don't see either leaving the AAC which has a better media deal than the MWC.
5. Something wild happens in realignment and the MWC winds up with some combination of NMSU, AAC, XII, and/or C-USA members.
   

Former FIU coach to coach Oregon

27-47 record.

(12-08-2017 12:05 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Former FIU coach to coach Oregon

27-47 record.

Apparently 70 players signed a petition asking administration to hire him.

(12-08-2017 02:43 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(12-08-2017 12:05 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Former FIU coach to coach Oregon

27-47 record.

Apparently 70(0) players signed a petition asking administration to hire him.

Fixed it for you.

(12-08-2017 03:11 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  

(12-08-2017 02:43 PM)westsidewolf1989 Wrote:  

(12-08-2017 12:05 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  Former FIU coach to coach Oregon

27-47 record.

Apparently 70(0) players signed a petition asking administration to hire him.

Fixed it for you.

SMU hired Sonny Dykes - seems to be another unpopular decision among some alums and players.

(12-11-2017 08:31 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  SMU hired Sonny Dykes - seems to be another unpopular decision among some alums and players.

Actually, I don't think that's a bad hire at all.

(12-11-2017 08:41 PM)greyowl72 Wrote:  

(12-11-2017 08:31 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  SMU hired Sonny Dykes - seems to be another unpopular decision among some alums and players.

Actually, I don't think that's a bad hire at all.

Dykes was capable of coaching only 6 games a year it seems. His teams started fast .. 5-0, 5-1 IIRC and then collapsed down the stretch.

Still shocked they took him over a certain former Rice coach...i mean, Cal has to have nicer facilities right?

With all the talk about Rice being used as a "stepping stone" for coaches, I thought the recent column in the Chicago Tribune about Northwestern now becoming a "destination" school for college coaches was interesting. Perhaps there are some lessons to learn here. : http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/col...olumn.html

(12-14-2017 11:08 AM)Kayjay Wrote:  With all the talk about Rice being used as a "stepping stone" for coaches, I thought the recent column in the Chicago Tribune about Northwestern now becoming a "destination" school for college coaches was interesting. Perhaps there are some lessons to learn here. : http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/col...olumn.html

I think it's a destination for Fitzgerald, but I think the article is correct in alluding to the pull of Duke for Collins, given that he played for them and was a long-time assistant coach for them.