SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee has an extensive SMU coaching staff full of Miami connections. Lashlee was the Miami offensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021 under head coach Manny Diaz. Lashlee is in his fourth season as head coach at SMU.
In 2020 Miami averaged 34.3 points and 439.8 yards per game in its first season with Lashlee as the offensive coordinator. Miami averaged 34.1 points and improved to 449.1 YPG. Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, now an SMU backup, won the 2021 ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year and Rookie of the Year under Lashlee.
SMU quarterback coach D'Eriq King was the Miami signal caller in 2020 and early in 2021 before suffering a season ending injury. King set the Miami single-season record with 539 rushing yards in 2020. Lashlee hired King as an offensive analyst in 2023 and he is in his second season as QB coach.
SMU offensive line coach Garin Justice and wide receivers coach Rob Likens held the same positions at Miami in the two seasons Lashlee was the offensive coordinator. Under Justice, Miami OL D.J. Scaife was named second-team All-ACC in 2021. Likens coached two All-ACC WRs in his two seasons.
Under Likens, Miami WR Charleston Rambo set the then Miami single-season record with 79 receptions and 1,172 receiving yards, which still stands. Mike Harley became the Miami all-time leader with 182 receptions under Likens. Xavier Restepo, who began his Miami career under Likens, is now the all-time leading receiver.
Kyle Cooper is in his third season as the SMU running backs coach and special teams coordinator after being a senior offensive quality control analyst in two seasons under Lashlee at Miami. Cooper has coached former Miami players Chris Johnson Jr., Jaylan Knighton and Brashard Smith at SMU.
Other coaches on the SMU staff who worked at Miami are assistant offensive line coach Reggie Bain and defensive assistant Ryan Ragone. Bain is the older brother of Miami star defensive lineman Rueben Bain. Bain will have to strategize on the task of the Mustangs blocking his brother on Saturday.
Ragone had 37 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in 34 games over four years with Miami. Ragone is a defensive assistant with SMU. SMU does not officially list Ragone on its staff. Ragone has helped SMU rank 15th nationally, allowing 95.5 rushing yards per game.
SMU Co-defensive coordinator Maurice Crum Jr. is the son of the synonymous former Miami linebacker who led the Hurricanes in tackles from 1988 through 1990 and played on Hurricanes' national championship teams in 1987 and 1989. Maurice Crum Sr. was a Miami teammate of head coach Mario Cristobal.
Lashlee has mined Miami for his staff and roster during his four seasons at SMU. Connections between Miami and SMU will almost assuredly be mentioned throughout the broadcast on Saturday. In addition, Cristobal and Lashlee were both part of the 2021-22 head coach hiring cycle.