Dana Dimel Lends Final Thoughts at Press Luncheon
11/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 26, 2002
HOUSTON - Dana Dimel spoke with members of the media Tuesday afternoon in his final University of Houston football press conference.
Dimel's Opening Statement
"When the announcement was made on Sunday concerning my future with the program, I wanted to wait to speak to the media collectively rather than individually about the decision and the direction that the program is headed. Obviously I am not happy with the decision, as can be expected. I don't think any head coach would ever be happy with the decision that was made."
"I thought it was important for me professionally talk about what is going on in the program, where we are and where things have come. I took the job three years ago and came into the position with a resume probably as strong as anyone else in the country, as far as what I was able to be associated at Kansas State and Wyoming. During my time at Wyoming, in the 1998 and 1999 season, I visited with various athletic directors concerning head coaching positions from the Big 10 to the SEC."
"After the 1999 season, I visited some with Chet Gladchuck and became interested in this job for two reasons. One reason being the challenges that laid ahead, however I did not know the degree of the challenges when I took the job. The attendance problem was one of the big factors that I was unaware of at the time in which I took the job, and that was and is a major detriment as a head football coach. Low attendance affects player and coach's morale. I probably should have done a better job of researching those factors. I also looked at this job for financial reasons. I would be lying if I did not say that the finances attracted me to this position."
"Since I arrived here, I found that Houston has many great people associated with the program. It has been a very enjoyable experience for me on that side of the ledge because of the great people that Julie and I have come to know and enjoy spending time with. That part of it has been very rewarding. The professional part of it has been very trying. I realize that you cannot take short cuts at Houston; no matter what you try to do you cannot expedite the process."
"Though the process of trying to turn this program around, the first year I came in, I found that we had few returning players. There were two returning starters left on defense, four returning starters left on offense and one of those broke his leg in the first game of the season. So, going into the 1999 season, there wasn't a great deal of returning talent on the football team. I was faced with the challenge of trying to rebuild a new program. Through that, the first directive was to recruit the state of Texas and to build the talent level. After three years I think we have done a great job as a staff in building our talent level and setting a base with the high school coaches for recruiting. Great relationships have been established and great talent has been brought to this program."
"If things were ever going to turn around for Houston, the 2000-2001 season had to happen. We could not take short cuts. I had to be the one to set the discipline, to dismiss guys if they were doing things they shouldn't be doing. I had to be the one to do that because I realized the situation that I was in."
"I think I poised our program to get to the stage that we are right now in 2002. A stage where we have got ourselves in positions in football games that the University of Houston hasn't been in a long time. Yes, it was frustrating to our fans to see us lose 17 and 22-point leads, but we also built those leads without any major turnovers. The point on that subject is this; we built those leads because we have taken this program to a level that it hasn't been in a long time. I think the play of this football program, even though it is not where it should be, it is at a level that is undeniably no doubt as to where this program is headed. There is no one who can look at this program right now and say objectively that it is not heading in the right direction. As a head football coach, it is frustrating that we didn't get there this year, yet we can't look and see that things are going in the right direction. We have built this team up academically as well as with the type of kids and the young talent we have in the program, and the recruiting bases that we have established."
"Now you are faced with the situation of knowing the pressures that are put upon you as a head coach, but also knowing where you have taken this program to and where it is. Unfortunately we did not get to a bowl game this year, but we came real close to getting it done."
"We are playing this weekend with the opportunity to win five football games. If everyone stepped back and said, 'Coach, if you could be playing in the last game of the season with the chance to win five football games,' I think 80-90% of our alumni would have said that is a great step for this program."
"If we would have won six games, there was a great chance for us to go to a bowl game. We have a chance to win five games still. In my contract, it states that if we would have gone to a bowl game this season that it was a necessity that my contract be renegotiated. So, if we would have won six ball games and went to a bowl, my contract would have had to be renewed. We still have a chance. Winning six games would have allowed my contract to be renewed, but obviously winning five is not enough to keep my job. That is something that is disconcerting to me, but I am not going to point any fingers."
"There are things that we have to be proud of concerning the way this program is going. I can talk individually about the talent we have now in virtually every position. Lets just talk about the state of the quarterback position. When I came here, there were two senior quarterbacks and a red-shirt freshman that failed out the next semester. That is what I had to work with at quarterback. Now, two years later, we have five quarterbacks in this program that are all good football players. I could go through every position talk about every position that way, but I don't think this is the time or place to do that."
"What happens at this point in the third season, I came in on a five year contract and I feel like I have laid down everything necessary for the base of a great football team. You get to the point where decisions have to be made for the future of the football game. Obviously, with the decision to let me go, you have to weight the positives with the negatives. The positive is that this football team has improved greatly in the past three years and the outlook of improvement over the next few years is high. The negative would be that with a coaching change, you have to go through the process all over again. That is what I am most concerned about. If you lay out the positives and the negatives, not just the financial negatives, the risk for the program and the players is very great right now."
"This program is in unequivocally better condition than it has been in the past 12 years. There is no doubt about the improvement from the talent base to the academics to the concern and focus that the kids have now for the direction that they want to go. There is greater reputation from the high school coaches and people in the community. All those things are a very strong positive for this program."
"As a head coach that came to this position to build a team, I have great deal of frustration with the decision that has been made. I do want our players to go on and have great success. I want them to really turn around and have a great season next year. I think there have been some fans that really deserve for that to happen. Those fans have stuck through the program through think and thin. We have some awesome fans in that respect. They have done a great job and those fans deserve to see that happen."
"I have had a lot of support form the coaches around the country this season congratulating me for the success that our program has this season. The business of college coaching and college football takes care of its own. Coaches take care of coaches. I will be fine. I have had job offers within the last two days, so there are not any concerns for me in that respect. The concerns are what is being invested and the message that is being sent."
Q&A
You said that if you had won six games that your contract would have been renegotiated. Were you told, or was it implied before the season started that you had to improve this many games?
No, there was never a number laid out for me as to what had to be accomplished to keep the job. We went out there and tried to win every football game that we could win and tried to do it a quickly as we possibly could.
There was a dramatic thing that happened this year and I want to touch on it as well. During the season, when the administration had their meeting with myself and my staff and things were leaked to the media, I did not have any hard feelings about that. As far as media goes, everyone in this room right now media wise have been unbelievable for this program. At the time that information leaked out, it put a bunch of pressure on our kids and our staff. The knowledge of that meeting really affected the way things have turned out for the remainder of the season.
How much pressure do you think the lack of fans had on Mr. Maggard and how much did it affect the decision that was made?
The program cannot afford to take steps backwards right now. I came in to try to get it going in the right direction. I think that our fans can see it going in the right direction. There are always going to be some fans that are not happy when you don't go to bowl games, but that is college football. Everyone has reasons for making their decisions and I don't want to make anything personal.
Dana, what happened in that meeting?
Obviously my future with the program was discussed. It was discussed around my staff and graduate assistants and it just leaked out into the media. My future was discussed but there was no definitive decisions made one way or the other.
When they called you in the meeting on Sunday, did you know what was going to happen?
I did not expect it to happen on Sunday. I felt that I had made some great improvements, we still needed to improve in other areas, but I felt I knew the best ways to make those improvements. Our team is in the top of the statistics in C-USA. I was kept informed and notified that my job was in jeopardy, but I did not think that it was really going to happen. I felt there were too many positives going on which would make any such decision a great risk to the program.
Why were you surprised by the decision in the meeting Sunday?
Three years is not a long time to give a coach to turn a program around. If the program was winning and consistent and I came in and brought it down in three years, then yes you should fire a coach after three years. If the program is trying to rebuild and a coach comes in and shows the improvement that we have after three years, then that is just a tough message to send.
Do you feel better about what you have done with this job than with what you have done in the past?
Absolutely, I feel 100 times better about what I have done here at the University of Houston than what I have done at Wyoming. There is so much more award for what I have accomplished here. Where we were taking this program is unbelievably rewarding.
What kind of advice would you give the guy that is going to come in and take your place?
He needs to come in and embrace the players first off. He needs to avoid the grinding transition process that I went through, because that is not easy. This program cannot afford that this weekend. He needs to keep up the discipline in the program.
Dimel concluded the press conference by thanking members of the Houston media for their support and professionalism during his tenure at Houston.