Rhett Lashlee avoided the usual headaches associated with taking over a college football program. The first-year head coach was familiar with SMU given his two-year stint as offensive coordinator at the turn of the decade. He was calling plays for the Mustangs in 2019 when the program won 10 games for the first time since 1984.
Lashlee knew how to navigate campus and recognized the faces in administration. He knows the city of Dallas, and even recruited more than a third of the roster.