Daronte Jones
{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1978)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
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| name = Daronte Jones
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| current_team = Minnesota Vikings
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| position = Defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|11|11}}
| birth_place = Capitol Heights, Maryland, U.S.
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| high_school = Bishop McNamara (MD)
| college = Morgan State
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| pastcoaching =
- Lenoir–Rhyne (2001)
Graduate assistant - Nicholls State (2002)
Safeties coach - Franklin HS (LA) (2003)
Defensive Coordinator - Jeanerette HS (LA) (2004)
Defensive Coordinator - Bowie State (2005–2009)
Assistant head coach & defensive Coordinator - UCLA (2010)
Cornerbacks coach - Montreal Alouettes ({{CFL Year|2011}})
Defensive backs coach - Hawaii (2012–2013)
Secondary coach - Hawaii (2014)
Assistant head coach & secondary coach - Wisconsin (2015)
Defensive backs coach - Miami Dolphins ({{nfly|2016}}–{{nfly|2017}})
Assistant defensive backs coach - Cincinnati Bengals ({{nfly|2018}}–{{nfly|2019}})
Cornerbacks coach - Minnesota Vikings ({{nfly|2020}})
Defensive backs coach - LSU (2021)
Defensive coordinator - Minnesota Vikings ({{nfly|2022}})
Defensive backs coach - Minnesota Vikings ({{nfly|2023}}–present)
Defensive pass game coordinator
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Daronte Jones (born November 11, 1978) is an American football coach who is the defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).
Playing career
Jones played as a cornerback for one season at Temple in 1996, but then transferred to Morgan State University.{{Cite web|title=5 Things to Know About New Vikings DBs Coach Daronte Jones|url=https://www.vikings.com/news/5-things-to-know-about-new-vikings-dbs-coach-daronte-jones|access-date=2021-02-09|website=www.vikings.com|language=en-US}} His playing career ended after his second season with the Morgan State after repeated injuries led to nerve damage.
Coaching career
=Early coaching career=
After being a graduate assistant at Lenoir–Rhyne and coaching safeties at Nicholls State,{{Cite web|last=Singleton|first=Chris|title=New LSU defensive coordinator Daronte Jones started coaching career at Nicholls, left lasting impression|url=https://www.houmatoday.com/story/sports/college/football/2021/01/31/new-lsu-defensive-coordinator-daronte-jones-started-coaching-career-nicholls/4276805001/|access-date=2021-02-09|website=Houma Today|language=en-US}} he was a defensive coordinator for two years at two separate Louisiana high schools.{{Cite web|date=2021-01-25|title=LSU hires Vikes' Jones as defensive coordinator|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30778469/sources-lsu-expected-hire-minnesota-vikings-daronte-jones-defensive-coordinator|access-date=2021-02-09|website=ESPN.com|language=en}} From 2005 to 2009, Jones was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Bowie State University in his home state of Maryland. He spent the 2010 season coaching at UCLA. After a one-year stint coaching the Montreal Allouettes of the CFL, he spent 3 years coaching at Hawaii. He then would spend a year in the Big 10 coaching at Wisconsin.{{Cite web|date=2021-02-05|title=Meet LSU's new defensive staff: Young, bright and ready to work|url=https://www.225batonrouge.com/our-city/meet-lsus-new-defensive-staff-young-bright-ready-work|access-date=2021-02-09|website=[225]|language=en}}
Jones then began coaching in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins, where he worked as assistant defensive backs coach for two seasons.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-28 |title=Former Dolphins Assistants Up for DC Position; No Go for Crow |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/dolphins/news/former-dolphins-assistants-up-for-dc-position-no-go-for-crow-01jjq9tqpner |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Miami Dolphins On SI |language=en-US}} The next two years he spent coaching the secondary for the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2020 he was the defensive backs coach for the Minnesota Vikings.{{Cite web |last=Goessling |first=Ben |date=2020-12-12 |title=Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones charts his own course |url=https://www.startribune.com/vikings-defensive-backs-coach-daronte-jones-charts-his-own-course/573377741 |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=www.startribune.com |language=en}}
= LSU =
Jones was named the defensive coordinator at LSU on January 26, 2021.{{cite web |title=Daronte Jones Named Defensive Coordinator |url=https://lsusports.net/news/2021/1/26/football-daronte-jones-named-defensive-coordinator.aspx |website=LSUSports.net |date=26 January 2021 |access-date=14 February 2021}} He was not retained for the following season.{{Cite web|date=2021-12-19|title=LSU LB Coach won't return under Brian Kelly's staff|url=https://www.brproud.com/sports/geaux-nation/lsu-lb-coach-wont-return-under-brian-kellys-staff/|access-date=2022-01-05|website=BRProud.com|language=en-US}}
=Minnesota Vikings=
On February 23, 2022, Jones returned to the Minnesota Vikings as the team's defensive backs coach for the 2022 season.{{Cite web | url=https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/vikings-add-daronte-jones-mike-smith-ben-kotwica-to-coaching-staff | title=Vikings add Daronte Jones, Mike Smith, Ben Kotwica to coaching staff | date=21 February 2022 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://lsusports.net/staff-directory/daronte-jones/650 LSU Tigers bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127033824/https://lsusports.net/staff-directory/daronte-jones/650 |date=2021-01-27 }}
{{NFL defensive backs coach navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Daronte}}
Category:African-American coaches of American football
Category:Sportspeople from Annapolis, Maryland
Category:Players of American football from Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Category:People from Capitol Heights, Maryland
Category:Players of American football from Prince George's County, Maryland
Category:Coaches of American football from Maryland
Category:American football defensive backs
Category:Morgan State Bears football players
Category:Lenoir–Rhyne Bears football coaches
Category:Nicholls Colonels football coaches
Category:High school football coaches in Louisiana
Category:Bowie State Bulldogs football coaches
Category:UCLA Bruins football coaches
Category:Montreal Alouettes coaches
Category:Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football coaches
Category:Wisconsin Badgers football coaches
Category:Miami Dolphins coaches
Category:Cincinnati Bengals coaches
Category:Minnesota Vikings coaches
Category:LSU Tigers football coaches