SMU Coach Rhett Lashlee Finalizes Two-Year Extension Among Top-10 Pay

SMU is finalizing a two-year contract extension with head coach Rhett Lashlee that reportedly runs through the 2032 season and will push him into the top 10 of college football’s highest-paid coaches. The raise is intended to lock Lashlee in amid reported interest from higher-profile openings (including Arkansas, LSU, Penn State and others), effectively removing him from the coaching carousel. Lashlee is 34-15 in four seasons at SMU, guided the Mustangs to the 2024 College Football Playoff and a 2023 American Conference title, and has delivered signature wins (including Clemson) and improving recruiting classes since the move to the ACC. SMU donors, boosters and new athletic leadership have backed substantial financial and facility investments that, along with NIL spending, helped make the extension possible and serve as a recruiting/optics play. The Mustangs sit 5-3 this season and face No. 10 Miami in a pivotal game that will help determine ACC title contention and the program’s momentum under Lashlee.