Scooter Hobbs

LSU’s long nightmare is over.

The perennial fretters in the fan base can return to their day jobs.

The Tigers, hallelujah, have a defensive coordinator.

Ed Orgeron got his man on the third try (that we know of) and life in Tigertown can resume.

So meet Daronte Jones — and, go ahead, try to say it real fast without it coming out as DeVonta Smith.

But Daronte is no Heisman Trophy winner.

In fact, nobody really seems to know much about him other than that he comes from the Minnesota Vikings, where he was the secondary coach.

But that’s not important now.

With each passing day, Twitter was about to have a panic attack as LSU’s defense lost valuable hours in the rehabilitation process, and with another season looming a mere eight months away.

And there have been teases before, with general anxiety, in the rush to replace the deposed Bo Pelini.

But this is a done deal, signed sealed and delivered.

Fortunately, it is not subject to the approval of the New Orleans Saints, as was Orgeron’s No. 2 choice with Sean Payton’s defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen.

Notre Dame already has a defensive coordinator so the Irish won’t be whisking in this time to kidnap him at the 11th hour, as it did with Orgeron’s No. 1 choice, Marcus Freeman of Cincinnati.

The only remaining hurdle is the standard “subject to approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors,” known in the trade as a “rubber stamp,” i.e., it’s LSU, not Tennessee.

“He’s going to bring tremendous energy to our defense,” Orgeron said in the school’s release. “And he will put our players in position to make plays, no matter the situation or scheme.”

That’s always a plus.

So feel free to welcome the Maryland native back to Louisiana, as it were, as one of his early coaching stops was at Nicholls State, which turned out to be a springboard for jobs at Franklin and Jeanerette high schools before a steady climb up the ladder that included two-year NFL stops at Miami and Cincinnati before landing in Minnesota last year.

Orgeron’s enthusiasm aside, who knows if it’s a good hire?

For what it’s worth, the Vikings didn’t seem to want to lose him, but unlike the Saints, had not contractual veto power. Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer has said he thinks Jones will one day be a head coach.

This move looks like the big break of Jones’ career that might one day get him there.

Assuming it works out.

Pelini’s hire at this time last year was certainly a bigger name and seemed like a perfect fit. And it begat an historically bad defense.

But Jones fits the pattern.

Want a good, high-paying job with LSU Football?

What you know may be a prerequisite, but who you know — two in particular — is the surest way to at least get into that interview room with Orgeron.

Mainly, you need to buddy up with either of the recent LSU coordinator wunderkinds, Joe Brady (now with the Carolina Panthers) or Dave Aranda (head coach at Baylor).

Orgeron apparently keeps them both on speed dial during his assistant coaching searches.

Jones might one day look back at 2015 as his big break. That was the one year he spent at Wisconsin as defensive backs coach with Aranda as his coordinator.

And when Aranda speaks …

“Daronte spent a year working with Dave … and he’s learned from some of the best in the game during his five years in the NFL,” Orgeron said. “We did a lot of research and talked to a lot of coaches, including Dave, and every person we spoke with raved about his knowledge and passion for the game.”

The 42-year-old Jones completes LSU’s coordinator overhaul in replacing Pelini.

New offensive coordinator Jake Peetz and passing game coordinator D.J. Mangas both used the ringing endorsement from their Brady connection ­— they were at his side with the Panthers — to get in the door.

It appears to be the quickest way into Orgeron’s heart.

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Scooter Hobbs covers LSU

athletics. Email him at

shobbs@americanpress.comScooter Hobbs (American Press)