Miami football makes swift decision to hire SMU’s Rhett Lashlee as OC
Manny Diaz and the Miami football program wasted no time in identifying their top candidate and hiring Southern Methodist offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee for the same position with the Hurricanes.
Miami football head coach Manny Diaz acted swiftly in identifying who they wanted to replace Dan Enos as the offensive coordinator. Rhett Lashlee who was most recently the offensive coordinator at Southern Methodist has been hired for the same position at Miami just a week after Enos was fired.
Enos was let go after one abysmal season as the offensive coordinator with the Miami football program. Diaz is promising a lot of the same things a year after Enos was hired. The Hurricanes are going to up-tempo and play primarily a spread offense. Diaz has his mulligan. Lashlee’s hire could determine Diaz’s Miami tenure.
Lashlee spent the last two years at SMU under head coach Sonny Dykes. Dykes is the son of longtime Texas Tech head coach Spike Dykes who was succeeded with the Red Raiders by Mike Leach. The apple should not fall far from the tree with the Air Raid offense. It would be difficult to see Miami being that wide open.
SMU did have a wide-open flourishing offense in 2019. The Mustangs had their first 10 win season since the Pony Express era of the 1980s finishing 10-3. With Lashlee running the offense SMU finished seventh nationally in points scored at 41.9 ppg and ninth in total offense at 489.8 per ESPN.
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SMU relied far more on the pass than the run. The Lashlee led SMU offense finished ninth nationally in total yards averaging 489.9 per game. Miami was 98th averaging 367.2. The Mustangs were seventh averaging 41.8 PPG. The Hurricanes fell to 90th at 25.7 PPG after their 14-0 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.
SMU was 13th in passing in 2019 at 309 yards per game. Miami was 51st averaging 249.2. The Mustangs finished 43rd in rushing offense at 180.8 yards per game. Lashlee’s biggest task in addition to the Hurricanes offensive line will be improving the ground game. Miami finished 122nd in rushing, averaging 118.08 YPG.
Lashlee will have far more time to ease into the schedule in 2020 than Diaz Enos did in their inaugural season in their new positions with the Miami football program. Miami opens against Temple which should be an interesting game after Diaz left the Owls following an 18-day stint as head coach in December 2018.
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The Hurricanes cannot afford a loss or even a poor performance and defeat the Owls similar to last season’s 17-12 win over Central Michigan. Non-conference games against Wagner, UAB and Michigan State follow hosting Temple before ACC play begins in October.