The Ole Miss Rebels are in the market for another staff member, as senior associate athletic director/football general manager Austin Thomas is reportedly set to return to the LSU Tigers for a third stint, per 247Sports.
Thomas joined Ole Miss' staff in 2022 after becoming one of the first general managers in all of college football with the Tigers in 2021 after he worked with LSU as a part of Les Miles' staff from 2013 to 2017. While at Ole Miss, Thomas oversaw the football program's administrative and operational functions and was a liaison to campus constituents.
Thomas was not retained by LSU when coach Brian Kelly was hired in December of 2021, but it appears Baton Rouge is calling yet again.
From 2018 to 2019 Thomas worked for the Texas A&M Aggies as their associate athletic director for football personnel. In 2020, he served as the senior associate athletic director for the Baylor Bears' football program.
Before that, Thomas started as a member of Lane Kiffin's staff during his coaching stints with the Tennessee Volunteers and USC Trojans.
The loss of Thomas hurts, but fortunately Ole Miss has not gone through too much staff turnover this offseason. The Rebels hired the Illinois Fighting Illini's George McDonald as wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator on Saturday after Derrick Nix recently took a promotion with the Auburn Tigers.
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