The Lane Kiffin era in Baton Rouge has now taken center stage. The 2025 season concluded with LSU's 38-35 loss to Houston in the Texas Bowl, and now all eyes turn to Kiffin as he continues to fill out his coaching staff and build his roster for 2026.
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Kiffin's latest hire comes in the form of Austin Shelton, who is slated to join LSU's player personnel staff. Shelton comes to LSU from North Carolina State, where he was Director of Player Personnel for the Wolfpack for the last two seasons.
BREAKING: Lane Kiffin adds Austin Shelton to LSU player personnel staff #LSU
— 104.5 ESPN (@1045espn) December 30, 2025
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Lane Kiffin hires Austin Shelton to player personnel staff
Shelton is a fast-rising front office figure, and previously worked with LSU General Manager Billy Glasscock and both NC State and Texas. That relationship paved the way for Kiffin to bring Shelton on board his staff at LSU. Shelton has also held other positions at Old Dominion, Purdue, Arizona and Tennessee. His exact title at LSU remains unknown at this time, but he is expected to be a part of Kiffin's player personnel staff.
Shelton's hiring at LSU comes just as the transfer portal is set to open on January 2. During an interview in the ESPN broadcast booth during the Texas Bowl, Kiffin stated that he wants to build LSU's roster around in-state talent while filling in the gaps using the transfer portal. Kiffin signed 14 players during the Early Signing Period, including a pair of in-state 5-star prospects in Lamar Brown and Richard Anderson.
With that being said, Kiffin and company figure to be busy when portal opens on Friday, as the Tigers currently have several needs they need to address. Offensively, Kiffin will most likely be on the market for several QBs, WRs, and offensive line help. Michael Van Buren is the only scholarship QB on the roster at the moment, and the Tiger offensive line has flooded to the portal.
Kiffin had great success utilizing the portal at Ole Miss, and Tiger fans are excited to see what he can do in his first season at LSU.