Rhett Lashlee lands extension from SMU amid coaching carousel speculation
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The 2025 college football coaching carousel is shaping up to be one of the wildest in recent memory, and many schools are already looking to secure long-term extensions with their current head coaches to avoid having their guy poached by a bigger program.
Nebraska did so earlier in the week with Matt Rhule, and now the SMU Mustangs have locked up their head coach long-term, with the program announcing via X that they have agreed to a new deal with Rhett Lashlee.
Lashlee, who is now in his fourth year at the helm of the Mustangs, has revived the long-dormant program and turned them into one of the top teams in the nation, leading them to College Football Playoff berth last season.
Reports had surfaced earlier in the season that the Arkansas Razorbacks were interested in Lashlee following the firing of Sam Pittman, with school alumni and current Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones viewing Lashlee as his preferred candidate.
This deal effectively eliminates any concerns of Lashlee leaving for a bigger job any time soon, though, as he is now locked in with the Mustangs for the foreseeable future. Now, he’ll turn his attention to guiding his squad through the rest of the 2025 season, starting with Saturday’s pivotal matchup against top-10 Miami.
