SMU is hiring Southlake Carroll head coach Riley Dodge as tight end coach and pass-game coordinator. Dodge was 107-10 as the head coach of the Dragons from 2018-25. He was reportedly in the mix for jobs at TCU and North Texas over the last month, as well. 

Dodge’s teams won seven district championships, five regional titles, and reached the Class 6A Division I state championship game in 2020 and the 6A Division II state championship game in 2024. He was named the Tom Landry Coach of the Year in 2019 and the 6A Coach of the Year in 2020. 

A former Carroll quarterback, Dodge played collegiately at North Texas and McNeese State, earning Sun Belt All-Conference honors. As a head coach, he developed 10 DCTX Rising Hot 100 prospects, including QB Quinn Ewers, TE RJ Maryland and WR Brock Boyd.

Dodge is the son of legendary Texas high school coach Todd Dodge, who led Southlake Carroll from 2002–06 and now serves as the head coach at Lovejoy. He brings previous college experience as an offensive analyst at Texas and a graduate assistant at Texas A&M, adding another proven Texas high school football pipeline connection to Rhett Lashlee’s staff. 

SMU went 8-4 in the regular season and were a Cal loss away from playing for a second consecutive ACC championship. The Mustangs reached the College Football Playoff in 2024. The 2026 outlook is bright with quarterback Kevin Jennings set to return for his third season as a starter. 

Greg Powers and Matt Stepp contributed to this report.