When Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones was preparing to interview with LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron for the Tigers’ defensive coordinator job, one of the people he called was former Teche Area football coach Zeb Simon.

Jones, who was named LSU’s defensive coordinator on Tuesday, worked as the defensive coordinator at Jeanerette Senior High School in 2003 under Simon.

“He called me Saturday to let me know he was applying for the job, and he didn’t want me finding out about it from the media or somewhere else,” Simon said.

Simon said he told Jones it was a good thing he did call because if Simon had learned of it from another source he definitely would have called Jones to find out why he hadn’t let him know of the possible move.

Simon’s son Steven was a student coach at Nicholls State in 2002 when Jones was the safeties coach, and the two became good friends. Simon said when Jones found out that working as a high school coach would pay better, Simon arranged for him to get a job at Franklin Senior High under then-coach Jerry Martin. He would have hired Jones at Jeanerette but the school didn’t have a teacher’s position open for Jones to fill that year.

“I said he’s a really good defensive backs coach, and you might considering hiring him for one year,” Simon said of his conversation with Martin. “He said why only one year? And I said because next year he’s coming with me.”

And that’s what Jones did, working as defensive coordinator at Franklin in 2003 and moving to Jeanerette to become defensive coordinator in 2004.

Jones, who coached with former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda for one season at Wisconsin in 2015, has spent the past five years in the NFL, most recently as the defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings. His other NFL stops have come with the Cincinnati Bengals and the Miami Dolphins.

Jones joined the Vikings after two years coaching the secondary for the Cincinnati Bengals (2018-19) and two years as assistant defensive backs coach with the Miami Dolphins (2016-17).

“Daronte is a great addition to our staff,” Orgeron said in a prepared statement. “We did a lot of research and talked to a lot of coaches including Dave (Aranda) and every person we spoke with raved about his knowledge and passion for the game. He’s going to bring tremendous energy to our defense and he will put our players in position to make plays, no matter the situation or scheme. Daronte spent a year working with Dave (Aranda) at Wisconsin and he’s learned from some of the best in the game during his five years in the NFL and I know that he’s going to do a great job with our defense. I’m excited he’s going to be an LSU Tiger.”

“I want thank Coach Orgeron, athletic director Scott Woodard and the administration for this opportunity,” Jones said. “I am blessed and thankful to be part of the LSU family, community, and the strong traditions of this program. Geaux Tigers.”

“He’s an excellent coach,” Simon said. “When the Bowie State defensive coordinator job came open, I told him you have to take that job if you’re going to further your career.

“His career has been blossoming ever since.”

The two had become close — Simon said Jones is like a son to him — so Jones was reluctant to take the job after only one year at Jeanerette. But he did, with urging from Simon, and was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator there from 2005-09.

“LSU’s getting somebody that’s very knowledgable of the game,” Simon said. “I just see that being a good move for LSU. He knows quite a few coaches in Louisiana, high school and college.

“I’m very proud of him.”

In his one season with the Vikings, Minnesota ranked among the top 10 in the NFL in interceptions with 15. Safety Harrison Smith led the Vikings and ranked No. 5 in the NFL in interceptions with a career-best five. In his two years with the Bengals, he was instrumental in the development of cornerback Darius Phillips, who led Cincinnati with four interceptions in 2019 in only eight games.

As assistant defensive backs coach with the Dolphins from 2016-17, Jones worked with safety Reshad Jones, who led the Dolphins in tackles with 122 and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl in 2017. In his first year with the Dolphins in 2016, the Miami defense ranked No. 3 in the NFL in interceptions with 16 and the franchise finished fourth in the league in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert only 36.1 percent of its attempts.

Prior to the NFL, Jones served as defensive backs coach for Aranda’s defense 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. Aranda moved on to LSU, and was named head coach at Baylor in January of 2020.

From 2012-14, Jones served as the secondary coach at the University of Hawaii, adding the title of assistant head coach in 2014.

One of the recruits Jones brought to Hawaii was Daniel Lewis Jr. of New Iberia Senior High. Lewis started 24 games for the Rainbow Warriors and compiled 145 tackles with three interceptions in three seasons at Hawaii before finishing his college career at Louisiana Tech.

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 nation’s 11th-best pass defense in 2012.

A native of Capital Heights, Maryland, Jones has 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 where his defenses finished among the top five in the nation three times.

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.

Simon said that he and his wife remain close to Jones. Someone who’d heard Jones might be hired at LSU asked Simon’s wife if he had worked for the coach at Jeanerette.

“She said Daronte’s like a son of ours — he likes my cooking and he’s just like a son to my husband,” Simon said.

Editor’s note: This story incorporates the LSU press release about Jones’ hiring.

2001 Lenoir-Rhyne (graduate assistant)

2002 Nicholls State (safeties)

2003 Franklin High School (defensive coordinator)

2004 Jeanerette High School (defensive coordinator)

2005-09 Bowie State (assistant head coach/defensive coordinator)

2010 UCLA (cornerbacks)

2011 Montreal Alouettes (defensive backs)

2012-14 Hawaii (secondary, 2012-13; assistant HC/secondary, 2014)

2015 Wisconsin (defensive backs)

2016-17 Miami Dolphins (assistant defensive backs)

2018-19 Cincinnati Bengals (secondary/cornerbacks)

2020 Minnesota Vikings (defensive backs)

2021 LSU (defensive coordinator)