The Miami Hurricanes have added a new man in hopes of reinvigorating their offense, hiring Rhett Lashlee as the team’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the school announced Saturday.
Lashlee, 36, has directed offenses at Auburn, Connecticut, Arkansas State, Samford, and most recently SMU, where he has been offensive coordinator for the past two seasons.
“Rhett has directed some of the most innovative offenses in college football in recent years — offenses that attack quickly, creatively and efficiently,” said Miami coach Manny Diaz said in a statement. “We are excited to see how Rhett will look to spread the ball around and utilize our athletes on the offensive side of the ball.”
Lashlee will replace Dan Enos, who was fired on Dec. 27 one day after the team was shut out 14-0 by Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl. Miami posted just 227 yards of offense in the loss.
Miami, which averaged 25.7 points per game this season, scored 20 points or fewer in six of 13 contests this season.
Lashlee was a backup quarterback in college at Arkansas who eventually worked on staffs headed by Gus Malzahn for his entire coaching career through the end of the 2016 season. At SMU, Lashlee helped the Mustangs finish 10-3 this season, averaging 41.7 points (seventh in the FBS) and 489.8 total yards per game (ninth).
The Hurricanes went 6-7 in 2019 in Diaz’s first season at Miami. The five-time national champion Hurricanes have just one 10-win season since 2003, when they finished 11-2.