Salary terms, contract details revealed for ex-FSU coach Alex Atkins at LSU

Atkins will be bringing in significantly less money than he made at Florida State.

Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins arrives for an FSU spring football practice of the 2023 season on Friday, March 10, 2023. Alex Atkins 1 Of 1 / Ehsan Kassim/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida State's disappointing 2-10 season led to the program moving on from multiple former members of the coaching staff, including offensive coordinator Alex Atkins, defensive coordinator Adam Fuller, wide receivers coach Ron Dugans, and linebackers coach Randy Shannon.

Less than three months after being fired by the Seminoles, Atkins has already landed a new position. On Wednesday afternoon, LSU officially announced the addition of Atkins as the program's next tight ends coach and run game coordinator. The Tigers are bringing him in to replace Slade Nagle, who departed for the offensive coordinator job at Houston in December.

READ MORE: Florida State adds three more high school prospects to #Tribe25 signing class

Atkins will be joining some familiar faces in Baton Rouge as former FSU defensive end Patrick Payton and former wide receiver Destyn Hill transferred to LSU this offseason. Plus, the Tigers landed five-star offensive lineman Solomon Thomas during the Early Signing Period. Thomas was pledged to the Seminoles for nearly a year but flipped to LSU in the aftermath of the program parting ways with Atkins.

Coach Kelly announced the addition of @CoachAAtkins as the Tigers’ tight ends coach and run game coordinator pic.twitter.com/7YtaQy4e7n

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) February 5, 2025

Florida State fired Atkins with two seasons remaining on an extension that he signed following the 2023 season. The Seminoles paid him $1.25 million this past season and owed him $1.3 million in 2025 and $1.4 million in 2026.

That means the Tigers are acquiring Atkins at somewhat of a discount though it is important to note he'll be moving into a position coach role rather than being a primary coordinator. The terms of his deal at LSU has already become public knowledge.

According to The Advocate, Atkins signed a three-year deal with the Tigers that is worth an average of $450,000 per season. He's set to make $250,000 in 2025, $450,000 in 2026, and $650,000 in 2027. Atkins also has the ability to earn up to $125,000 in postseason incentives if LSU wins an SEC championship or national title.

This is the second time that Atkins has coached tight ends during his career and the first since 2008 when he was working for his alma mater, UT Martin.

The Seminoles had one of the worst offensive lines in the country last year and tabbed Herb Hand to help right the ship. FSU landed eight new faces with half of those coming through the portal and the other half coming from the high school recruiting class.

Which New Coaches Did Florida State Hire For The 2025 Season?

Gus Malzahn, Offensive Coordinator (UCF)

Herb Hand, Offensive Line Coach (UCF)

Tim Harris Jr., Wide Receivers Coach (UCF)

Cooper Williams, Assistant Offensive Line Coach (Missouri)

Brendan Bognar, Offensive Analyst (Samford)

Tony White, Defensive Coordinator (Nebraska)

Terrance Knighton, Defensive Line Coach (Nebraska)

Evan Cooper, Safeties Coach (Nebraska)

Jack Potenza, Defensive Analyst (Nebraska)

Devin Rispress, Director of Recruiting (Colorado)

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READ MORE: four-star 6-foot-9 offensive tackle Chastan Brown commits to Florida State

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