Ole Miss and LSU might as well just be trading Pokémon cards at this point with how often a coach or administrator is going from one school to the other.
There’s the obvious ones. Lane Kiffin, Charlies Weis Jr., George McDonald and a few others left Ole Miss for LSU, some of whom are coaching the Rebels in the CFP. On the other side of the highway is Kelvin Bolden, who returned to Oxford after being the Sr. Associate Athletics Director/Assistant General Manager at LSU.
Now, there’s another on the road from Baton Rouge to Oxford.
Multiple reports have been published that Austin Thomas is returning to Ole Miss to be the Rebels’ general manager. He had the same job at LSU.
Ole Miss is expected to announce Austin Thomas as its new Ole Miss football general manager this week. He's coming from LSU and was previously with the Rebels.
— Chase Parham (@ChaseParham) December 15, 2025
Thomas was one of the first ever GMs in college football. Back in 2016, then-LSU coach Ed Orgeron made Thomas the first GM in the SEC. He earned the honor after helping LSU sign back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015.
In 2015, he was named Personnel Director of the Year.
Most recently, Thomas helped LSU land the No. 11 recruiting class. The class included top-rated players like No. 1 overall prospect Lamar Brown, No. 1 defensive lineman Richard Anderson, No. 3 defensive lineman Deuce Geralds, No. 12 defensive end Trenton Henderson, No. 10 offensive tackle Brysten Martinez, No. 14 cornerback Havon Finney, No. 20 wide receiver Jabari Mack and flipping the No. 28 wide receiver Corey Barber away from Ole Miss.
Frankly, at this point, we can expect more names to switch sides (Ole Miss running backs Kevin Smith is one to watch for). Ole Miss fans are just hoping it won’t be too many players making the switch.
Rivalry Brewing
No team will ever challenge Mississippi State as the Rebels’ biggest rival, but the recent events with LSU are closing that gap.
Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for the Tigers, and the way in which he left, ahead of the team’s playoff game, plus the coaches and administrators who have/will leave for LSU add some spice to the rivalry.
If players start swapping schools, too, the rivalry might reach a boiling point and we know when things will boil over.
LSU is coming to Oxford on September 19 next season in what’s certain to not be very enjoyable return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for Kiffin.
