Arkansas fired head coach Sam Pittman on Sunday, one day removed from a 56-13 home loss to No. 22 Notre Dame that was the school's worst home loss in five years.
As the Razorbacks commence their coaching search for a job that will pay the head coach well but will perhaps need more investment in the roster in the revenue sharing era, SMU's Rhett Lashlee has been rumored as one of the early candidates for the job.
Lashlee is a Springdale, Ark. native and a Razorbacks alum, with the school undoubtedly holding a special place in his heart.
Lashlee was asked about the speculation regarding the Arkansas job in his weekly press conference on Tuesday, and gave a respectable answer.
"I don't stand anywhere on speculation and hypotheticals," Lashlee said. "I'm happy. I've got a great job. When your name gets linked to jobs, it means your team has done well, the program has done well, so it's a compliment to what our staff and administration and players have built over the last three-plus years. 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. It's a great and fair question. But I'm really excited about what we're building here."
SMU HC Rhett Lashlee comments on Arkansas job at his press conference.
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Lashlee is 31-14 through his first 45 games at SMU. The program has won 11 games in back-to-back seasons, and the Mustangs played in the ACC championship and College Football Playoff a season ago.
SMU is 2-2 through four games and hosts visiting Syracuse on Saturday in Dallas.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as SMU’s Rhett Lashlee Addresses Speculation Regarding New Arkansas Coaching Opening.
