Two Miami football assistant coaches hired by Rhett Lashlee at SMU

Former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee is taking two assistant coaches with him from the Miami football program to SMU. Offensive quality control analysts, Jonathan Brewer and Kyle Cooper are joining the Mustangs staff for to be determined roles. Lashlee is still in the process of building his staff with SMU.

Brewer joined the Miami staff with Lashlee in 2020. WIth Lashlee being hired as the head coach at SMU, Brewer is returning with him to Dallas. Brewer was an offensive quality control assistant in 2018 and 2019 at SMU under Lashlee. Prior to his first stint at SMU, Brewer has worked with Lashlee at Auburn and Connecticut.

Cooper also worked with Lashlee at SMU and UConn. Before beginning his coaching career, Cooper played at FCS Robert Morris. Whoever the replacement for Lashlee is will likely want to bring in his own staff. Lashlee is probably just getting started poaching from his Miami offensive coaching staff.

Miami offensive line coach Garin Justice and wide receivers coach Rob Likens have also been rumored to join Lashlee in Dallas. Some speculation has been that Likens could be a candidate to replace Lashlee as the Miami offensive coordinator. Likens has previously been the offensive coordinator at Arizona State and Kansas.

The job status for head coach Manny Diaz will also influence who replaces Lashlee as offensive coordinator. If Diaz remains he has stated he wants to continue to use the up-tempo spread installed by Lashlee in 2020. The Miami football team has been one of the top 35 offenses nationally over the past two seasons.

The Miami pass offense was prolific in the second year under Lashlee. Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke enters the Hurricanes bowl game with six straight games throwing for over 300 yards and three TDs. Likens will probably handle offensive coordinator and play-calling for the Miami bowl game.