Rhett Lashlee says he respects SEC, stands by ‘factual comment’ about depth
By Andrew Olson
Published:
After causing a stir with a comment about the SEC, Rhett Lashlee sought to clear the air.
Lashlee made headlines at ACC Media Days when he said it wasn’t “depth” for the SEC to have only had 6 schools win the championship since 1964.
The SEC has had the same six schools win the championship since 1964,” the SMU head coach said. “Not a single one has been different since 1964. That’s top-heavy to me. That’s not depth.
Lashlee’s comments were not taken well in the SEC. Paul Finebaum called Lashlee’s rant “comical” and “embarrassing.”
On Monday, Lashlee appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show. The Arkansas alum and former Auburn assistant said he has respect for the SEC, but stood by his championship observation as a “factual comment.”
“I’ve got a lot of respect for the SEC and a lot of experience with the SEC,” Lashlee said. “As you pointed out, I played in it for 3 years, and I coached in the SEC for 7 and 3 conference championship games, 2 national championship game appearances, and so I got a lot of respect for the league.
“All I said was a comment, and unfortunately, it’s a factual comment. That the same 6 schools have won that league for the last 60 years, and it’s just hard to argue parity if that’s the case. Now, look, I’m not necessarily saying the ACC’s better or worse.
“I think the SEC’s, again, a league I respect that’s done a lot of great things, but we live in a day and age where, unfortunately, we’re all forced to politic, almost like it’s a contest or a pageant to get into the playoffs in certain things, and when that’s the case and one league is considered to maybe need preferential treatment for bids because of their depth, we got to at least look at the facts, and it’s not as much a comparison of league versus league. It’s just, I think that argument’s not the reason. I think each year, teams should stand on their own production and success.”
More from Lashlee on Finebaum can be seen in the clip below.
SMU head coach @rhettlashlee stops by the show to clarify his comments from last week about SEC Depth, and offers a few ideas for improving college football overall: pic.twitter.com/ZQ2gNkAMTC
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) July 28, 2025
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
