Bo Pelini will find LSU pretty much the way he left it.

And the Tigers’ replacement for Dave Aranda will need no formal introduction.

Pelini was the defensive coordinator for LSU’s 2007 national championship and he’ll return in the same job two weeks after the Tigers finished atop the college football world for the first time since then.

Head coach Ed Orgeron made the long-rumored move official on Monday to replace Aranda, who was college football’s highest paid assistant before taking the head coaching job at Baylor.

“The opportunity to return to LSU is truly unique,” said Pelini, who left LSU to become head coach at Nebraska and has spent the last five years as head coach in his Ohio hometown at Youngstown State.

“Culturally, with my prior experience at LSU, I know it is a great fit for me. The chance to work with Coach Orgeron, the ability to take charge of the Tigers defense, is something that I’m extremely excited about.

“All of that in a place that both my family and I immensely enjoyed when we were there before is very exciting for us. We are very honored and looking forward to this next chapter.”

Sports Illustrated reported that Pelini will make $2 million per year as opposed to the $2.5 million that Aranda earned.

Pelini accepted the Nebraska head job shortly after the Tigers won the 2007 SEC championship to land a spot in the BCS national championship game. But he stayed on with LSU while juggling both jobs for a month until after the Tigers defeated Ohio State 38-24 for the BCS title.

“We are privileged to have one of the top defensive coordinators in all of football in Bo Pelini join our staff,” Orgeron said in a release from the school. “Bo has had some of the best defenses in football during his career and we are looking forward to him bringing his tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise back to LSU to continue to win championships.”

In seven years at Nebraska Pelini never won fewer than nine games with three 10-win seasons.

He made back-to-back appearances in the Big 12 championship game in 2009 and 2010. He also reached the Big 10 championship game in 2011 after the Cornhuskers transitioned to that conference.

He was 66-27 overall with the Cornhuskers.

But Pelini frequently clashed with the Nebraska administration and fans and he was fired after going 9-3 in 2014. Nebraska has had only one winning season in the five years since.

Pelini is leaving his job as head coach at Youngstown State, where he went 33-28 in five years while reaching the FCS national championship game in 2016.

Pelini’s first stint at LSU was the first three years of the Les Miles era, culminating in the 2007 national championship.

The Tigers ranked No. 3 nationally in total defense all three years Pelini was in charge, while LSU led the SEC twice (2006 and 2007) and was second in 2005.

The Tigers also led the SEC in scoring twice in his three years and were second the other.

Ray Thompson / Associated Press