Four LSU underclassman football players made decisions about their senior seasons, speculations of possible coaching changes swirled and the offensive coaching staff welcomed two new assistants during winter break. The LSU defense took a hit last week when junior safety Chad Jones announced he will forego his remaining years of eligibility on the football and baseball teams and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. “Since I was a kid growing up in a family with a strong football tradition, I’ve always dreamed of playing football in college and hoped one day I’d make it to the NFL,” Jones said in a statement. “After many discussions with my family and coach [Les] Miles, I feel it’s the right time for me to enter the NFL draft.”Junior linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, wide receiver Terrance Toliver and offensive lineman Joseph Barksdale opted to stay for their senior seasons.Sheppard led the Tigers with 110 tackles in 2009, and Toliver was second behind Brandon LaFell with 735 yards and three touchdowns for the year. Barksdale, who converted from defensive tackle to offensive tackle as a freshman at LSU, has started 26 consecutive games at right tackle. Sheppard is 15 hours away from graduating with a degree in general studies, which he said played a part in his decision to return.”I felt like coming back to LSU for my senior season was the best decision for me, my family and the team,” Sheppard said in a news release. “This decision allows me the opportunity to get my degree and try to help the team win another [Southeastern Conference] title and a national title.”In early January, rumors circulated on a Shreveport radio show that LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton would lose his job. Another story on the Scout.com Web site, “The Bear Report,” wrote that Crowton would become quarterbacks coach for the Chicago Bears, where Crowton was offensive coordinator from 1999-2000.Crowton said those reports were a surprise to him.”I am employed at LSU, and I never heard from the Bears,” he said. “I talked to coach Miles, and I felt secure where I stood in that area, so I didn’t really worry about it. All I know is coach Miles and I are very optimistic about next year.”Crowton acknowledged that the Tigers’ 2009 offensive numbers did not reflect the personality of LSU’s offense. The Tigers averaged 304.5 yards a game — No. 112 of 120 Division-I teams — and they were outgained seven times by opponents.”I felt like we did some good things on offense [in 2009], but we didn’t have a lot of statistical numbers,” Crowton said. “On paper, our statistics were down, but we were in position to win every one of our 13 games. The worst game we played was the Florida game, and I don’t want to be in that position again.”On the defensive side, defensive coordinator John Chavis turned down a job offer from Georgia the week before LSU’s appearance in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day.LSU senior associate athletic director Herb Vincent said an increase in Chavis’ salary will go before the Board of Supervisors in a meeting Jan. 29. The amount of the raise has not been announced.Vincent said Miles and Athletic Director Joe Alleva “did what we needed to do to keep him.””It becomes so competitive in college athletics to keep the high-quality coaches,” Vincent said. “It’s a marketplace you have to compete in if you want to win championships and graduate your student-athletes. The salaries have soared. If we want to continue staying in that marketplace, we need to address what’s going on with salaries as an industry in college athletics.”While Crowton is staying put as an offensive assistant at LSU, former running backs coach Larry Porter accepted the head coaching job at Memphis, and former wide receivers coach D.J. McCarthy resigned amid an investigation into possible NCAA recruiting violations.Frank Wilson and Billy Gonzales came in to fill those voids. Wilson left the Tennessee staff to join LSU as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, and Gonzales came from Florida to become receivers coach and passing game coordinator.Vincent said Wilson will be paid $325,000 per year and Gonzales will earn $285,000 a year. Their salaries also will be up for approval at the Board of Supervisors meeting.LSU finished No. 17 in the final Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Top 25 polls following its 19-17 loss in the Capital One Bowl to Penn State. LSU scored two touchdowns in three minutes to take a 17-16 lead in the fourth quarter before Penn State drove 65 yards for the game-winning field goal.After LSU finished the 2009 season at 9-4, Alleva wrote a letter to LSU fans urging them not to be critical of the team’s performance and saying LSU always strives for “bigger and better accomplishments.”Vincent agreed these should be the feelings of the LSU fan base.”We have all the resources here to compete for championships year in and year out,” Vincent said. “Looking at the big picture, we are in good shape.”——Contact Rachel Whittaker at [email protected]