LSU reached into pro football for its offensive coordinator and is reportedly doing the same on defense.
The Athletic said Vikings assistant Daronte Jones interviewed with LSU and accepted the position Monday.
The Tigers were historically bad on defense in 2020. LSU was 124th out of 127th in total defense. LSU allowed almost 500 yards per game.
Here’s Jones’ bio from the Minnesota Vikings website, Vikings.com
Daronte Jones (duh-RAHN-tay) enters his fifth season in the NFL after most recently spending two years with the Cincinnati Bengals as the secondary/cornerbacks coach from 2018-19. In 2018 Jones aided in the development of rookie CBs Davontae Harris and Darius Phillips, both late-round draft picks who saw game action throughout the season due to injuries to Cincinnati’s defense.
Jones previously worked two seasons with the Miami Dolphins as an assistant defensive backs coach. In 2017, Jones helped S Reshad Jones to a team-high 122 tackles and a berth in the Pro Bowl. In his first season as a professional coach in 2016, Jones helped coach a Dolphins defense that recorded 16 interceptions, third-most in the NFL. Miami also ranked fourth in the league in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert on only 36.15 percent of attempts.
Prior to the NFL, Jones served as defensive backs coach at the University of Wisconsin in 2015, as the Badgers led the nation with just seven passing touchdowns allowed. Wisconsin’s passing defense ranked second in the Big Ten and seventh nationally, allowing 173.2 pass yards per game. From 2012-14, Jones served as the secondary coach at the University of Hawaii, adding the title of assistant head coach in 2014. Jones helped improve Hawaii’s passing defense by 62.1 yards per game, as the Rainbow Warriors went from 85th nationally in 2011 to the 11th-best passing defense in 2012.
The Capital Heights, Maryland, native also had earlier coaching stops with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2011 as the defensive backs coach and with UCLA in 2010 as the cornerbacks coach. Jones was named assistant head coach/defensive coordinator at Bowie State from 2005-09. His defense finished in the top three nationally in three of his five seasons.
Prior to his time at Bowie State, Jones served as defensive coordinator at two Louisiana high schools — Jeanerette (2004) and Franklin (2003). He also spent the 2002 season coaching safeties at Nicholls State after beginning his coaching career in 2001 as a graduate assistant at Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina. Jones played four seasons as a defensive back at Morgan State before earning his bachelor’s degree in 2001.
