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Rhett Lashlee
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Rhett Lashlee became SMU’s head coach in 2022 and has led the Mustangs to championships in both the American Athletic Conference and ACC.
Rhett Lashlee Coaching Record
Entering the 2025 season, Rhett Lashlee has compiled an impressive 29-12 record, all with SMU.
Rhett Lashlee Coaching History
- 2004-2005: Springdale (Ark.) HS — Quarterbacks
- 2006: Arkansas — Graduate assistant
- 2009-2010: Auburn — Graduate assistant
- 2011: Samford — Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
- 2012: Arkansas State — Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
- 2013-2016: Auburn — Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
- 2017: UConn — Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
- 2018-2019: SMU — Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
- 2020-2021: Miami — Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks
- 2022-present: SMU — Head coach
Rhett Lashlee Coaching Bio
Most coaches have a mentor who helped get them started and whose influence remains strong throughout their careers. Few have a bond as strong as the one between Rhett Lashlee and his mentor Gus Malzahn.
The two first met at Springdale, Ark., where Malzahn was the varsity football coach at Shiloh Christian High School and Lashlee was the record-setting quarterback who led the Saints to 3 straight trips to the state championship game, winning 2 titles. After a playing career at Arkansas that was shortened by injury, Lashlee returned to Springdale to serve as Malzahn’s quarterbacks coach before returning to his college alma mater as a graduate assistant when Malzahn was hired as the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator.
At that point in his career, Lashlee decided it was better to stay close to home than follow Malzahn to Tulsa. So he remained in Arkansas and spent the next 2 years producing a publication covering high school football in the state. But the pull of coaching was too strong. And he eventually returned to the field, following Malzahn from Auburn to Arkansas State and back to Auburn where he was named a finalist for the Broyles Award as college football’s top assistant in 2013.
That proved to be the springboard that finally convinced Lashlee to leave Malzahn and chart a course of his own. It’s a course that led him to SMU, where he made such a positive impression as the Mustangs’ offensive coordinator under Sonny Dykes that he was hired as the school’s head coach after Dykes left for TCU in December 2021.
FAQ About Rhett Lashlee
What is Rhett Lashlee's Salary?
As a private institution, SMU is not obligated to disclose the details of its employees’ contracts. But according to a report from Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports, the new deal Lashlee signed to remain at SMU in November 2024 is worth significantly more than the estimated $2.4 million he was making annually previously. Chris Vannini of The Athletic quoted a prominent SMU booster as saying that if Lashlee leaves for another job, “it wouldn’t be over money.”
What is the Length of Rhett Lashlee's Contract?
Lashlee was rewarded for his success during SMU’s debut ACC season with a 6-year extension that will keep him under contract with the Mustangs through the 2030 season.
What is Rhett Lashlee's Buyout?
Details of Lashlee’s contract have not been made public, but it is believed that his buyout is significant — especially if he decides to leave for an SEC school such as Auburn or Arkansas.
How Many State High School Records Did Rhett Lashlee Set?
Forty. Among them are his 171 career touchdown passes and a single-game mark of 672 passing yards. His 40 career wins as a starter at Shiloh Christian (in only 45 games) is also an Arkansas state prep record.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
