Austin Thomas spent two seasons at Ole Miss, serving as football chief of staff and sport administrator for the Rebel football program in 2022 and 2023.

In his role, Thomas had oversight of football's administrative and operational functions. His main focus areas included budget, scheduling, facilities and non-coaching personnel, while also serving as the program’s main liaison to campus constituents and shaping the program’s strategic vision along with head coach Lane Kiffin.
 
A native of Franklin, Tennessee, Thomas came to Oxford from LSU where he served in the same capacity for the Tigers.
 
Thomas spent the 2020 season as senior associate athletic director for football at Baylor, where he was tasked with overseeing all football related activities for the Bears.
 
Thomas served as the associate athletic director for football personnel at Texas A&M for two years during the 2018-19 seasons. Thomas helped guide the Aggies to its highest back-to-back recruiting classes in program history in 2019-20.
 
Prior to his stop in Baton Rouge last season, Thomas previously spent five seasons with the Tigers. Thomas’ first stay at LSU came from 2013-17 serving as a staff member before being named the general manager in the history of the Southeastern in 2016. At the time of his promotion, he was one of only two with that title in college football.
 
In his first two seasons at LSU, Thomas helped the Tigers claim back-to-back top five signing classes in 2014 and 2015, and in 2016-2017 during his time as the general manager, Thomas played a key role in the construction of the roster that won the 2019 National Championship. He was named the Personnel Director of the Year in 2015 and a finalist for the award in 2014.
 
Considered one of the top off the field professionals in all of college football, Thomas spent multiple seasons on Kiffin’s staff in off-the-field roles at both USC and Tennessee. Thomas served as a defensive quality control coach for Kiffin in Knoxville in 2009, followed by a two year stay at USC as the Trojans’ assistant director of player personnel from 2011-2013.