LSU set to have new offensive play-caller debut against Alabama after firing Brian Kelly

Alabama will be the first team to face LSU after the Tigers fired Brian Kelly on Sunday, and the head coaching position is not the only thing that will be different in two weeks.

LSU fired offensive coordinator Joe Sloan Monday morning. This move comes with the LSU offense ranked No. 12 in the SEC. Sloan spent four years on staff and was the quarterbacks coach when Jayden Daniels led the Tigers to a victory over Alabama in Death Valley three years ago.

The new play caller for LSU will be Alex Atkins. The name may sound familiar to some college football fans because Atkins is a former Florida State offensive coordinator. He joined the Seminoles in 2020 as the offensive line coach and became offensive coordinator in 2022.

He helped coach Florida State to a 13-0 regular season in 2023, but the Alabama Crimson Tide made the playoff over the Seminoles after defeating Georgia, something that Florida State did not do in the 2023 Orange Bowl.

Florida State collapsed the following season and finished 2-10. Atkins was fired, leading to him taking a job with LSU in February of 2025 as the tight ends coach.

Now, he is going to be calling plays. His first opponent as the Tiger’s play caller will be Alabama, and there is a connection that Atkins has to one of Alabama’s star players.

Atkins was a four-year starter a UT Martin from 2003-06 and was named to the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023. When he wrapped up his playing days, he became a graduate assistant in 2007. A year later, he coached tight ends before going to Marshall as a graduate assistant.

Jason Simpson, the father of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, became the head coach of UT Martin in 2006, meaning that Atkins played for him and coached under him.

Atkins has come a long way since his first coaching position, and he will be tasked with trying to get the LSU offense going against Alabama when the Tigers visit Tuscaloosa in two weeks.