Mizzou to Hire Former LSU Assistant as Tight Ends Coach, Per Report

The Tigers are bringing in a former offensive coordinator to coach their tight ends group.

Florida State offensive coordinator Alex Atkins arrives for an FSU spring football practice of the 2023 season on Friday, March 10, 2023. Alex Atkins1 1 Of 1 | Ehsan Kassim/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Missouri Tigers are adding another experienced assistant coach to their offensive coaching staff in Alex Atkins from LSU, per Pete Thamel. Atkins most recently worked at LSU as the tight ends coach and run game coordinator, along with acting as the interim head coach.

Sources: Missouri is set to hire Alex Atkins as the school’s next tight ends coach. Atkins is a veteran coach who spent last year at LSU, including interim OC. He spent the prior five years at Florida State, including three years as offensive coordinator and two as OLine coach. pic.twitter.com/lJNojDjAQS

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 12, 2026

This past season was the first one that Atkins spent with LSU. He spent the previous five seasons with Florida State in two different roles, starting off as the offensive line coach for the Seminoles in 2020. He was in that position for two seasons before becoming the offensive coordinator under Mike Norvell from 2022 to 2024.

Atkins was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for Charlotte in 2019, as well. He acted as the offensive line coach, run game coordinator and assistant head coach at different points during his tenure with the Tulane Green Wave from 2016 to 2018.

During his time with Tulane, Atkins aided in transforming the Green Wave offense. Tulane had the No. 118 best rushing offense in 2015 and, in 2016, moved up to No. 26 nationally at 231.5 rushing yards per game.

Before his stop at Tulane, Atkins spent two seasons at Georgia Southern as the offensive line coach, two seasons at Chattanooga as the offensive line coach, two seasons at Itawamba Community College as the offensive line coach and three years as either a graduate assistant or tight ends coach at Marshall and UT-Martin.

Atkins only has two years of experience as a tight ends coach, doing so at UT-Martin in 2008 and most recently at LSU in 2025. Atkins worked hand-in-hand with Trey'Dez Green and Bauer Sharp this year, both of whom had productive seasons.

At Florida State in 2023, he worked with quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson and wide receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman. The Seminoles ended the 2023 season ranked fifth in the country, just barely missing the cut for the College Football Playoff. The Seminoles had the sixth-best offense in the ACC that year, averaging 401.5 yards per game.

Travis finished that season with 2,756 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions before an injury derailed his final college moments.

The addition of Atkins has been one of many so far on the offensive coaching staff. The Tigers have added Chip Lindsey from Michigan to be the offensive coordinator, Garrett Riley in an unknown role and Brendan Bognar to presumably be the assistant quarterbacks coach.

To keep up with all of the roster movement for Missouri, follow our offseason tracker.