It’s done.

[ponyboy]

Was just about to post the same thing. We may have made out better on the deal.

[Charleston Pony]

This entire thing ended poorly with Sonny, but am I the only one who thinks we might have just received an upgrade coaching wise? Obviously we need to see how Lashlee transitions from an OC to a head coach, how the assistant coaches perform, and how the recruiting/transfer musical chairs settles out during the transition, but I am hopeful this is a good thing (especially with the speed at which we had a new coach).

Yes...it was really nice to basically have a new coach in place before anything was officially announced. Far cry from previous transitions

[EastStang]

I do sorta miss the Purple Hippo chasing planes around the country.

[Charleston Pony]

Was just about to post the same thing. We may have made out better on the deal.

Maybe TCU will fire Sonny and try to hire Lashlee after his SMU team hands TCU it's 5th consecutive defeat in the Iron Skillet game

[redpony]

hopefully he will fill out his staff and get some top recruits before early signing day.
Any word if he is going to bring some recruits with him to help fill the void left by the
de-commits.

[ponyboy]

And if Diaz gets fired, he may bring half of the Hurricanes team with him as transfers.

[Charleston Pony]

And if Diaz gets fired, he may bring half of the Hurricane team with him as transfers.

Or hopefully at least the Texas players with eligibility remaining

[Water Pony]

I share the observation that we made a decisive and positive move by quickly securing Rhett Lashlee, if for no other reason than to show our commitment to the current team by bringing in someone they know and, hopefully, respect.

They loss of some recruits and coaches is an issue; but I feel HC Lashlee will move fast to salvage some of each and reignite most of the energy which was lost in the last four weeks.

[orguy]

The loss of Samples and those talented 3/4 star recruits we had coming in is what ticks me off
the most. Hoping RL will be able to salvage one or two of those guys moving forward.

Good riddance to SD. Do not let the doorknob hit you in the rear on the way out greaseball

[mustangxc]

Hmm didn't he bolt to go to Miami. Feel like it'll be this same thing again in a few years

As long as he improves on what is currently in place and gets an opportunity to move on to bigger and better, I can live with that. SMU is now a place coaches actually want to work whereas before JJ came it was a coaching graveyard that guys were warned to stay away from

For that reason alone, June Jones has been the most important coach at SMU since the DP. I know it is an extremely unpopular opinion but he deserves more credit than anyone else for elevating SMU football to the point it is now as he more than anyone else is responsible for getting us into the Big East (AAC) and proving you can win consistently at SMU (4 consecutive bowl games). I hope the Chad Morris and Sonny Dykes episodes help put his tenure in better perspective. He handled the ASU flirtation as poorly as possible and his son tweeting about SMU being the [deleted] school in the USA was enraging but as we've seen the majority are dirtbags, it's only a matter of time until they show it.

For those wondering how long we will remain a stepping stone job, it will stay this way as long as we are a G5 program, which unfortunately I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Rarely do you see many coaches especially young coaches wanting to stay at the G5 level. I think Rhett is going to do a great job for us and hoping maybe he can find a way to get us over the hump and into the AAC Championship Game in the future.

Not necessarily true. Patterson stayed at TCU for years while they were on the outside looking in and Traylor just signed an extension with UTSA despite heavy outside interest. It is all about finding the rare person that goes against the grain and is the right fit. For now, I would rather replace winners every few seasons than have a mediocre coach that wins 7 games each season but never gets us over the hump.

It doesn’t hurt we are a stepping stone. I would have been happy for a Dykes to go to any school but TCU. By all accounts, some of our best players may transfer to TCU. Along with our prized recruits. That’s just [deleted].

Right, if he goes to OU it will be much less painful than TCU. If we lost all of Samples' recruits but they scatter rather than go to TCU that eases much of the pain too.

This entire thing ended poorly with Sonny, but am I the only one who thinks we might have just received an upgrade coaching wise? Obviously we need to see how Lashlee transitions from an OC to a head coach, how the assistant coaches perform, and how the recruiting/transfer musical chairs settles out during the transition, but I am hopeful this is a good move/hire (especially with the speed at which we had a new coach).

No doubt, but Sonny is still an [deleted] hat for the way he handled the whole situation.

[DC-Pony]

Hmm didn't he bolt to go to Miami. Feel like it'll be this same thing again in a few years

As long as he improves on what is currently in place and gets an opportunity to move on to bigger and better, I can live with that. SMU is now a place coaches actually want to work whereas before JJ came it was a coaching graveyard that guys were warned to stay away from

For that reason alone, June Jones has been the most important coach at SMU since the DP. I know it is an extremely unpopular opinion but he deserves more credit than anyone else for elevating SMU football to the point it is now as he more than anyone else is responsible for getting us into the Big East (AAC) and proving you can win consistently at SMU (4 consecutive bowl games). I hope the Chad Morris and Sonny Dykes episodes help put his tenure in better perspective. He handled the ASU flirtation as poorly as possible and his son tweeting about SMU being the [deleted] school in the USA was enraging but as we've seen the majority are dirtbags, it's only a matter of time until they show it.

For those wondering how long we will remain a stepping stone job, it will stay this way as long as we are a G5 program, which unfortunately I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Rarely do you see many coaches especially young coaches wanting to stay at the G5 level. I think Rhett is going to do a great job for us and hoping maybe he can find a way to get us over the hump and into the AAC Championship Game in the future.

Not necessarily true. Patterson stayed at TCU for years while they were on the outside looking in and Traylor just signed an extension with UTSA despite heavy outside interest. It is all about finding the rare person that goes against the grain and is the right fit. For now, I would rather replace winners every few seasons than have a mediocre coach that wins 7 games each season but never gets us over the hump.

It doesn’t hurt we are a stepping stone. I would have been happy for a Dykes to go to any school but TCU. By all accounts, some of our best players may transfer to TCU. Along with our prized recruits. That’s just [deleted].

Right, if he goes to OU it will be much less painful than TCU. If we lost all of Samples' recruits but they scatter rather than go to TCU that eases much of the pain too.

This entire thing ended poorly with Sonny, but am I the only one who thinks we might have just received an upgrade coaching wise? Obviously we need to see how Lashlee transitions from an OC to a head coach, how the assistant coaches perform, and how the recruiting/transfer musical chairs settles out during the transition, but I am hopeful this is a good move/hire (especially with the speed at which we had a new coach).

No doubt, but Sonny is still an [deleted] hat for the way he handled the whole situation.

I agree with all of this. The only thing I’d quibble with is how, on the whole, we’re viewing Sonny on his way out. 1. He did some great work at SMU. 2. This mid-season coach firing is relatively new terrain and I don’t think there is an indisputable way of handling it well if you’re the recruited coach during the season. He could have cut and run 5 weeks ago. And I know some on this board would have preferred that. But if his motive was to not leave us during the season there is something to that.

All in all, I’m grateful for at least the first 3.5 of Sonny’s 4 years. And I’m grateful for Rhett Lashlee as our new coach. And totally agree, if we lose Coach Lashlee to a strong P5 team in a few years it will mean we’ve continued our success and good for him. And perhaps we’ll be in or on the doorstep of a P5 conference at that time.

Enjoy the holidays, all.