LSU football overhauled its coaching staff a season ago.
Its struggles on defense -- combined with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock's decision to return to Notre Dame -- meant the Tigers needed to add coordinators on both sides of the ball and bring in new positional coaches on all three levels of the defense.
This offseason, the staff changes haven't been as dramatic -- LSU needed to replace only one positional coach. But there has been plenty of movement within the Tigers' analyst and player personnel departments this winter.
"I think it's suffice to say that we've got some change but some continuity, which I like the blending of both as it relates to our support staff," LSU coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday.
The most notable addition to the coaching staff has been Alex Atkins, the former Florida State offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Atkins was fired by the Seminoles in November as they finished this past season with a 2-10 record.
Atkins will serve as the LSU tight ends coach and run game coordinator. He replaces tight ends and special teams coach Slade Nagle, who left the Tigers to become the offensive coordinator at Houston in December.
"He brings a great deal of experience as a coordinator," Kelly said. "But more importantly, his depth and background in the run game as an offensive line coach, he adds another perspective in that room."
LSU's rushing attack struggled for much of last season, averaging less than 4 yards per carry in half of its games against SEC competition. The tight ends, in particular, struggled blocking in the run game.
"He will not be stepping on (offensive line coach Brad Davis') toes. Brad's done an incredible job," Kelly said. "This is really having somebody that will coach the tight ends and have a specific focus towards our run game and how it marries and matches to what I'm looking for within our overall offensive structure.
"Having somebody that has his eye on it every day ... that was a great need."
Atkins fills the void Nagle leaves in the tight ends room, but he won't fill Nagle's role as special teams coordinator.
Nor will senior special teams analyst Lester Erb or Bob Diaco, LSU's interim special teams coordinator in 2023 who served as a defensive analyst last season. Diaco left this offseason to become the linebackers coach at North Carolina, while Erb was let go.
Both exits left a void within the coaching staff as it pertains to special teams. To fill it, LSU hired Grambling special teams coordinator Aman Anand as a special teams senior analyst. Additionally, Kelly said he plans on hiring another special teams coach to support the unit.
"We feel really good about that," Kelly said.
Besides Anand, the Tigers have hired East Carolina general manager Noah Joseph -- who worked with LSU defensive coordinator Black Baker at Missouri -- as a defensive analyst. They're also in the process of adding Lance Guidry -- Miami's defensive coordinator for the past two seasons -- to the staff as a defensive analyst, sources told The Advocate.
On the other side of the ball, Kelly announced the hirings of former Oklahoma State quarterbacks coach Tim Rattay and Oregon offensive analyst Antonio Parks as offensive analysts.
Rattay and Parks help replace offensive analysts Todd Fitch and Paul Turner, who both left the program to become the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, respectively, at Charlotte.
"We're excited about those that have moved on as well because they've been given great opportunities," Kelly said.
The Tigers made even more changes to their player personnel department, naming JR Belton the new director of football operations and elevating Donovan Tate into the role of director of recruiting.
The new titles for Tate and Belton -- combined with LSU parting ways with six staff members -- prompted a question to Kelly regarding whether these changes were related to LSU needing to save money because of revenue sharing expected to begin this summer.
Kelly denied that the adjustments made to the support staff was to save money. But he does know there will be programs around the country cutting costs because of revenue sharing.
"That has not been the case here," Kelly said.
Staff writer Wilson Alexander contributed to this report