Last Saturday’s football game wasn’t Mike Dietzel’s first time at West Point.
His distant cousin, Paul Dietzel, coached at Army from 1962-65, and the Bulls’ special teams coordinator says he influenced his coaching career.
Dietzel spent five seasons as Army’s running backs coach and helped perfect the triple-option running attack that is still used at the university. He was on staff during a 10-2 season in 1996, which remains as Army’s most successful season.
He remembers the “surreal” atmosphere while coaching Army-Navy games – games he considers football havens for die-hard fans.
This past Saturday, those memories resurfaced as he returned to West Point for the first time as an opposing coach when the Bulls played Army. Buffalo fell 47-39.
“I was glad to be back because of the positive memories that I made there,” Dietzel said. “I was able to see a lot of coaches, players and administration. It was a welcoming return to West Point.”
Dietzel began his career at Army as an assistant running backs coach in 1995 when the school was expanding its coaching personnel.
“I had always enjoyed the military,” Dietzel said. “I enjoy its history and experience and what the school was able to teach.”
Dietzel was promoted to running backs coach shortly after his inaugural season with the Black Knights and was very involved with the triple-option offense. The offensive style – which is still run today – offers many ways to move the ball down the field, including rushes from the quarterback and two skill position players, usually running backs.
The triple-option resulted in some of Army’s most productive seasons. Three of the program’s 20 best rushing seasons (1996, 1997, 1999) came under Dietzel. Army is in the middle of its 124th season.
After a new head coach was hired in 1999, Dietzel left the position to become the defensive coordinator at Kent State. He said some of his greatest coaching memories are from Army.
“My best memory is winning the Commander-in-Chief Championship Trophy against Navy [in 1996],” Dietzel said. “It’s a different football atmosphere. Any football fan has to go see for themself.”
He served at Western Kentucky for seven seasons before he took notice of Bulls’ head coach Jeff Quinn’s program in Buffalo in 2010.
“One of the most intriguing factors to come to UB was because of coach Quinn’s resume,” Dietzel said. “His credentials with Brian Kelly [at Cincinnati and current Notre Dame head coach] and what he has done with the program here made me want to be part of the success.”
Dietzel returned for his fifth season on the Bulls’ coaching staff this season. He is confident in this program and believes it has high potential, even though the Bulls were handed a loss this past weekend to his former team.
“If we would’ve won, the reunion would have been a heck of a lot better,” Dietzel said with a laugh.
He brought his leadership and organizational skills to the program from Army and preaches his ideals to the team.
His stint at Army may have concluded, but his Black Knight pride never left.
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