| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | SMU |
| Conference | ACC |
| Record | 37–15 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1983-06-09)June 9, 1983 (age 42) Springdale, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2002–2004 | Arkansas |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2004–2005 | Springdale HS (AR) (QB) |
| 2006 | Arkansas (GA) |
| 2009–2010 | Auburn (GA) |
| 2011 | Samford (OC/QB) |
| 2012 | Arkansas State (OC/QB) |
| 2013–2016 | Auburn (OC/QB) |
| 2017 | UConn (OC/QB) |
| 2018–2019 | SMU (OC/QB) |
| 2020–2021 | Miami (FL) (OC/QB) |
| 2022–present | SMU |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 37–15 |
| Bowls | 0–2 |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (CFP) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
2SEC (2010,2013) 2SEC Western Division (2010, 2013) 1Sun Belt (2012) | |
| Awards | |
| |
Rhett Lashlee (born June 9, 1983) is an Americancollege football coach who is thehead coach atSouthern Methodist University. He previously served as theoffensive coordinator andquarterbacks coach atAuburn University from 2013 to 2016 andoffensive coordinator andquarterbacks coach at theUniversity of Miami from 2020 to 2021.
Lashlee playedcollege football at theUniversity of Arkansas as aquarterback from 2002 to 2004. Prior to his tenure at SMU, he held various assistant coaching positions both at the high school (namely,Springdale High School in Arkansas) and collegiate levels (including Arkansas,Auburn,Samford,Arkansas State,UConn,SMU, andMiami).
Lashlee attendedShiloh Christian School inSpringdale, Arkansas,[1] where he played quarterback under head coachGus Malzahn. Lashlee posted a state-record 40 career wins (40–3–2 as a starter) and he led his team to three straight state championship games, winning two titles.[2]
Lashlee holds a number of Arkansas high school records.[3]
Regarded as a three-star recruit byRivals.com, Lashlee was ranked as the No. 19 pro-style quarterback in a 2002 class that also featuredBen Olson,Trent Edwards,Drew Stanton, andMatt Moore.[4]
Lashlee playedcollege football for theArkansas Razorbacks. Lashlee was a backupquarterback toMatt Jones, from 2002 to 2004 for the Razorbacks. A shoulder injury ended his playing career.[5] Lashlee graduated from theUniversity of Arkansas in 2006.[6]
Lashlee is from theGus Malzahn coaching tree and worked exclusively under him prior to 2017, with the exception of his one year atSamford University.
From 2004 to 2005, Lashlee worked with the quarterbacks atSpringdale High School.[2] Following the announcement of Malzahn's hire asArkansas Razorbacks offensive coordinator in 2006, Lashlee was hired as an offensive graduate assistant.[2] Following this season, Malzahn left to become the offensive coordinator of theTulsa Golden Hurricane football team. Although invited to join Malzahn's staff at Tulsa, Lashlee left coaching and remained inNorthwest Arkansas. Instead, Lashlee and his brother-in-law wrote, published, and marketedHigh School Sports The Magazine (later renamedVype), a publication based on high school sports in Arkansas. During the two years Lashlee was involved in the business, he made relationships with high school coaches throughout Arkansas and marketed his magazine to distributors. Lashlee volunteered as quarterbacks coach atHar-Ber High School when his schedule would allow.[7] Malzahn was hired as the offensive coordinator at Auburn for the 2009 season. Following this announcement, Malzahn offered Lashlee to join his staff as a graduate assistant, returning Lashlee to coaching.[2]
In 2011, Lashlee joinedSamford University as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. During his first and only season at Samford, Lashlee improved the team's offense in points per game (17 to 26), total offense (57 to 46 ranking nationally), and improved their record from 4–6 to 6–5 through the installation of a high tempo offense.[2]
In 2012, Lashlee was hired byArkansas State University as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach following head coach Gus Malzahn after his departure from Auburn.[2]
On December 6, 2012, Lashlee was hired atAuburn University as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach following Gus Malzahn after his return to Auburn after one year at Arkansas State.[5][8][9] In 2013, Lashlee was a finalist for theBroyles Award, given annually to the nation's top college football assistant coach.
In 2017, Lashlee joined theUniversity of Connecticut as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
On January 4, 2018, Lashlee was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach atSouthern Methodist University (SMU).[10]
On January 3, 2020, Lashlee was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at theUniversity of Miami under head coachManny Diaz.
On November 30, 2021, Lashlee was named head coach atSouthern Methodist University (SMU), replacingSonny Dykes after he left SMU to become the head coach at rivalTexas Christian University (TCU).[11] After three successful seasons and a successful first half of 2025, Lashlee and SMU agreed to an two-year extension.[12]
Lashlee is aChristian.[13] He is married to Lauren Lashlee (née Lee), and they have four children together.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMU Mustangs(American Athletic Conference)(2022–2023) | |||||||||
| 2022 | SMU | 7–6 | 5–3 | T–4th | LNew Mexico | ||||
| 2023 | SMU | 11–3 | 8–0 | T–1st | LFenway | 24 | 22 | ||
| SMU Mustangs(Atlantic Coast Conference)(2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | SMU | 11–3 | 8–0 | 1st | LCFP First Round† | 11 | 12 | ||
| 2025 | SMU | 8–3 | 6–1 | ||||||
| SMU: | 37–15 | 27–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 37–15 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
| |||||||||
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