Reports: Austin Thomas Returning to LSU

Last week it was reported by FootballScoop that Sam Nader, a fixture within the LSU football program for nearly 50 years, is moving towards retiring as assistant athletics director of football.

If reports are true, and LSU has not yet made any kind of announcements, Ed Orgeron is reportedly turning to a familiar face to fill the role: Austin Thomas.

Thomas worked for LSU for four and a half years as a “general manager” a newer position in the college football world. Thomas worked both with recruiting and with NFL clubs to, as The Advocate called it, “maximize players’ opportunities at the professional level.”

Thomas left LSU in 2018 after a few false starts. He initially was heading to Tennessee to do something similar for Jeremy Pruitt in December of 2017 but that dissolved in a matter of days. Thomas then was “committed” to Ole Miss in February of 2018 before that fell apart too.

But Thomas would indeed leave, taking a job with Jimbo Fisher’s staff at Texas A&M in June of 2018. Thomas spent two years with A&M before taking a position with Baylor at the start of 2020. Thomas worked with Dave Aranda as Baylor’s senior associate AD for football.

At Baylor, Thomas was the “head coach off the field” as Aranda put it. Thomas oversaw things such as recruiting, personnel and football operations.