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Zach Kittley, Brennan Marion, and the Other Top 5 Head Coach Candidates for UTEP

Mike Huesmann breaks down UTEP coaching candidates

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By: Mike Huesmann

Few places in college football are tougher to win at than UTEP. Dana Dimel is a solid coach and even he couldn’t get it done. In six seasons he posted a 20-49 record. A 7- and 5-win season was the best it got in El Paso. 

The Miners are searching for a new leader on the coaching carousel and this list will be populated with guys searching for their first head job, which speaks to the state of the job. This list has some very exciting names on it, hopefully, one of them can ignite a resurgence in the Sun Bowl.

Zach Kittley

Offensive Coordinator, Texas Tech

Few in the business have had the mercurial rise of Kittley. He coached Bailey Zappe to success at Houston Baptist and then Western Kentucky before being snatched up by Joey McGuire in Lubbock. His time to be a head coach will come sooner rather than later. The question is, does he want this to be his first head job with the success others have had here? Waiting for a better job is an option for him.

Brennan Marion

Offensive Coordinator, UNLV

Marion has shown us that he will move up the ladder in search of that better job, so he’d likely accept the job if offered. He’s also rumored to be a candidate for San Diego State. He hasn’t spent two consecutive years at the same job since 2018, with stops at William & Mary, Hawaii, Pittsburgh, Texas, and now UNLV. He is as innovative as they come and his team’s ability to run the ball is almost a guarantee. He might be the jolt in the arm that UTEP needs.

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Jeff Banks

Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator, Texas

Banks spent eight seasons as a UTEP assistant so he is familiar with the school and recruiting scene here. He’s also considered one of the best special teams guys in the game. The former Alabama assistant has continued to find success, and a large salary, with Sark in Austin. He’d likely have to take a pay cut to come to UTEP, is he willing to do that to become a head coach?

Jeff Grimes

Former Offensive Coordinator, Baylor

Grimes was given his pink slip yesterday (11-26) by Dave Aranda at Baylor, who basically had to cull the herd to keep his own job. Grimes was a candidate for the Auburn job last offseason. A respected offensive line coach, and UTEP alumni. He played here under Bob Stull and David Lee in the late 1980’s. Grime will be seen as a steady veteran, unlike the previous guys on the list. Is that too much like Dimel?

Mack Leftwich

Offensive Coordinator, Texas State

At only 29, Leftwich would be the youngest FBS head coach in the country. Leftwich was a UTEP QB and later assistant here. He was an assistant at Incarnate Word before GJ Kinne, was retained, then followed him to Texas State this year. The Bobcats were one of the most explosive offenses in the country and both ran and threw the ball effectively. Like Kittley and Marion, he is an attractive candidate for an AD who wants to be different. 

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