Would Lashlee be right hire at Arkansas if he could be gotten from SMU ?

Dilemma in Fayetteville?

Arkansas will face the question of Lashlee's interest in coming home whether or not he will take the bait of a potential $9-10 million per year contract at an SEC school.

Razorbacks athletics director Hunter Yurachek has already shared confidence that the next hire will be afforded resources to be successful, but comments he made at the Little Rock Touchdown Club recently could prove detrimental in the process of hiring Lashlee away from SMU.

Secondly, no one truly knows the contractual buyout of SMU's fourth-year head man as the Mustangs aren't obligated to share financial information due to its private institutional status. While the terms aren't public, it is believed Lashlee's contract contains a strong buyout to keep him away from most bigger schools trying to poach him.

Some coaching contracts have a clause in it that might encourage a decrease in a buyout if the coach decides to leave his current school for his alma mater.

While Lashlee's success makes him a prime candidate for the Arkansas head coaching job, he reiterated his desire to remain in Dallas with the Mustangs moving forward earlier this week.

“I don’t stand anywhere on speculation and hypotheticals,” Lashlee said. “I’m happy. I’ve got a great job. I think when your name gets linked to jobs, it means your team has done well, the program has done well.

“And then a lot of times there’s obvious connections. I mean, if it’s your alma mater, it’s easy to link names. But I haven’t given it any thought because there hasn’t been anything to give thought to.”

Prime Candidate for Arkansas

Lashlee has a strong familiarity with the SEC along with southern roots across the region that's helped him generate a strong understanding of how to be successful as a coach.

His ties to the state, youthful energy and program building mentality could help in recruiting battles for high schoolers and athletes in the transfer portal.

At just 42, Lashlee can bring innovation, and a modern approach to NIL, the portal, player and program branding to the table Arkansas has struggled to have in the everchanging landscape of college athletics.

His current claim to fame has been his ability to turn SMU into a top-25 program after taking over for Sonny Dykes in 2021, leading the Mustangs to back-to-back 11-win seasons for the first time since recovering from the death penalty.

With a 32-14 overall record and titles in two separate conferences (American and ACC) makes him a prime target for the open Arkansas head coaching spot.

What's the Holdup?

SMU's brand is incredibly strong and continues to grow during its transition as a Group of Five upstart to ACC program. The only argument against Lashlee is his time spent away coaching in the SEC.

He hasn't faced a gauntlet of a schedule like the one he would see at Arkansas each year with Texas, LSU and Missouri on tap each year as permanent opponents along with Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Auburn and Vandebilt on the slate in Year One.

Of course, the jump from SMU to Arkansas is steep and the question presented to Lashlee is can handle the week-by-week pressure, booster expectations, and physicality of an SEC slate?

While Lashlee's high school recruiting classes have been top heavy, his transfer portal recruiting helped elevate his SMU program from middle of the pack of the American and into playoff contention by consistently ranking in the top 15.

Yurachek has pledged resources moving forward for the next Arkansas coach that they will take the next step in evaluating transfer portal talent with in-depth, advanced scouting included in the budget.

There are some defensive concerns given Lashlee's high powered offensive system as the Mustangs currently rank outside the top 50 in several statistical categories.

Arkansas is in desperate need for stability on the defensive side due to its lack of identity, effort and toughness of late, giving up 425 yards per game this season.

The Razorbacks would need to push out enough money in a coaching staff budget to afford a strong defensive coordinator capable of fielding a more consistent unit.

The type of competitive struggles at Arkansas that span for more than a decade could keep Lashlee at in Dallas knowing he would have an easier route to postseason lore at SMU with what seems like endless amount of resources.

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