The Rundown Take
Thanksgiving Leftovers: Rhett Lashlee Bolts for SMU as Miami's Coaching Search Boils Over
Thanksgiving night, both hosts on the road and fighting bad connections, and Devin and Larry Frank Jr. still found time to break real news: offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee is leaving for the SMU head coaching job, vacated when Sonny Dykes moved on to TCU. With the season finale against Duke a day away and a head coaching decision still hanging in the balance, the family spent the night trying to map out every domino left to fall.
Key Takeaways
- Rhett Lashlee is confirmed headed to SMU as head coach, taking the job Sonny Dykes vacated for TCU.
- The panel debates which assistants Lashlee might poach with him, guessing at the running backs and receivers coaches while assuming the offensive line coach stays put.
- Devin's hypothetical staff board, if Mario Cristobal is hired: Steve Sarkisian or Tom Herman at offensive coordinator, Corey Raymond or Will Muschamp on defense.
- Larry Frank says his money is still on Lane Kiffin over Cristobal, arguing the offense is already in place and the defense would be less of a rebuild under Kiffin.
- Devin, on the coaching search pace: "I have no confidence right now."
Lashlee Bolts for SMU
The news broke mid-show and immediately reframed the whole staff conversation. Larry Frank called it a real loss given how the offense had clicked once Tyler Van Dyke took over, and the panel spent several minutes guessing which assistants might follow Lashlee out the door, landing on the running backs and receivers coaches as the most likely departures while assuming the offensive line coach stays.
The Staff Domino Effect
With the head coaching decision still unresolved between Cristobal and Kiffin, Devin ran through his ideal staff either way — Steve Sarkisian or a resurgent Tom Herman calling plays, Corey Raymond or Will Muschamp running the defense. Larry Frank pushed back on the safety of "recycled" names, arguing the game has changed too much for some retreads to work, while still holding out hope for Kiffin as the higher-upside hire over Cristobal.
"I'm not excited. I have no confidence right now because I'm just worried that they're going to make a bad decision, and the next bad decision they make is going to put us even further behind the eight ball."
Duke, and Then the Real Season Begins
Buried under all the coaching chatter was Saturday's actual game — the regular-season finale against Duke. The ask from the panel was simple: complete domination across all three phases, no close calls, a repeat of last year's blowout, and a clean path to seven wins before the far bigger news cycle of a new athletic director and head coach takes over the program's Thanksgiving week.