DALLAS — On a Sunday afternoon last September, Rhett Lashlee was preparing his SMU team for its ACC opener against Syracuse when a series of odd text messages started coming in from friends and acquaintances back home in Arkansas.We’re thinking about you.We’re really praying for you.Lashlee wondered what this was about; everything was good with him and his family. After a few minutes, it hit him: Arkansas had just fired head coach Sam Pittman. A new coach was needed in Hogville, and the feelers from home had begun.This is how a coaching search unofficially begins. Lashlee, a former Razorbacks player and assistant coach whose parents still live in Arkansas, was a natural target for The Natural State.Lashlee and his agent knew this would be the most active coaching carousel in years. They just didn’t expect it to start up quite that early. Having taken SMU to the College Football Playoff in 2024, Lashlee was going to be highly sought-after if the 2025 season went well — not just by Arkansas but by a slew of SEC programs expected to have openings.The Mustangs won their next three games, including at Clemson. Then on Oct. 31, Lashlee and SMU agreed to a new contract extension. One day later, SMU beat No. 10 Miami (Fla.) in overtime, the program’s first top-10 win in 43 years.In the end, Lashlee didn’t go home to Arkansas. In a cycle that saw prestigious jobs open at Florida, LSU, Penn State and Auburn (another place Lashlee had coached), he stayed at SMU, which two years ago had been in a Group of 5 conference. He also didn’t drag it out toward the end of the regular season for maximum leverage.Lashlee’s decision, and Curt Cignetti’s similar announcement two weeks prior to stay at Indiana, signaled that what goes into a college football coach’s job decision has changed. If a coach has a supportive administration and a path to the Playoff, he doesn’t have to leave for a so-called “bigger” job anymore.“It’s different than it was three years ago,” Lashlee said. “Look at Indiana winning the national title and us making the Playoff. There’s more parity now, and if universities are willing to invest, you can compete no matter where you are.”Should the College Football Playoff expand based on the World Cup field?Chris VanniniIt helped that SMU got ahead of the issue. A month before the season began, athletic director Damon Evans told president Jay Hartzell what to expect from the next coaching carousel. Both had joined SMU in early 2025, so this would be their first negotiation with Lashlee’s camp, but they were well-versed in high-dollar contract negotiations. Evans had come from the Maryland AD job, while Hartzell was very involved in athletics while in one of the most high-profile university president jobs at Texas. Those two hires had highlighted SMU’s rising position in the pecking order.“I listed out all the schools (expected to open),” Evans said of his talks with Hartzell. “I like being proactive instead of reactive and waiting for people to come after him.”