Dana Dimel headed to Kansas State

Arizona running backs and tight ends coach Dana Dimel has notified the U of A and Kansas State coaching staffs that he is leaving Tucson and headed to Manhattan, Kansas.

Dimel, a KSU grad, has a teenage son still living in Manhattan and has coached at Kansas State twice before already. He’ll make it three times, starting in 2009, and will likely coach running backs or wide receivers there.

Dimel was Mike Stoops’ associate head coach in Tucson and in 2006 served as interim offensive coordinator, helping revive the Wildcats’ dormant offense under previous offensive coordinator Mike Canales.

He spent the following two seasons helping Rob Gronkowski emerge as the UA’s tight ends coach, and in 2008 also was the running backs coach, helping Keola Antolin and Nicolas Grigsby have very successful seasons.

Now he’s giving everything he’s built at Arizona up to head back to Kansas State.

"He's spent enough time away from his pops through the years," Dimel told the Arizona Daily Star. "You don't get the high school years back. You only get one shot. You've got to be a dad. That's important."

Dimel replaces David Brock, who recently announced he was leaving Kansas State – where he was slated to coach wide receivers – for Boston College.

There’s no word who Arizona will hire to replace him.