DALLAS (AP) — SMU and coach Rhett Lashlee have agreed on a two-year contract extension amid hypothesis that he could possibly be a candidate at Arkansas, his alma mater, and different faculties on the prolonged listing of vacancies.
The deal was introduced on Saturday, a few hours earlier than the Mustangs performed No. 10 Miami at house. Terms weren’t disclosed.
It’s the second extension in as a few years for Lashlee after the Mustangs made the 2024 College Football Playoff and received all eight Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season video games of their long-awaited return to an influence league.
“SMU is a special place to our family,” Lashlee mentioned. “We are so excited for the opportunity to continue the process of building our program on the national stage.”
SMU’s nation-leading 20-game conference winning streak ended last week with a 13-12 loss to Wake Forest on a 50-yard subject objective on the final play. The Mustangs received their first 11 ACC regular-season video games, though they misplaced to Clemson within the convention championship recreation final season whereas making the playoff anyhow.
Arkansas is amongst a number of high-profile packages which have fired head coaches this season, together with LSU, Florida and Penn State. Others embody Oklahoma State, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Stanford fired Troy Taylor in March.
The 42-year-old Lashlee is in his fourth yr as coach of the Mustangs and took a 34-15 document into the assembly with Miami, the place he spent two seasons because the offensive coordinator earlier than taking the SMU job.
The Mustangs received the 2023 American Athletic Conference championship recreation for his or her first league title in 39 years and the twelfth in program historical past.
“Rhett has shown an unwavering commitment to elevating SMU Football to new heights,” first-year athletic director Damon Evans mentioned. “Under his leadership, we are building a program that will compete for championships year in and year out.”
Lashlee was employed after Sonny Dykes left for TCU following three consecutive successful seasons that included an 8-0 begin in 2019. Lashlee was Dykes’ offensive coordinator for 2 seasons in 2018-19.
The Arkansas native began his school teaching profession at Samford in 2011 and has additionally coached at Arkansas State, Auburn and UConn.