Abbeville High hires former LSU player as its new head football coach

Abbeville High School’s new head football coach has been mentored by the best college football coach of all time, one of the top high school football coaches in Louisiana, and several NFL assistant football coaches.
Abbeville High Principal Phillip Freeman announced that he hired Jonathan Zenon as the school’s new head coach. 
Zenon graduated from Breaux Bridge High School in the early 2000s and helped lead the Tigers to the quarterfinal round in the playoffs under former Breaux Bridge coach Mike Mowad. 
For LSU football fans, the name Jonathan Zenon may sound familiar.
Abbeville’s new football coach, Jonathan Zenon, was part of the LSU Tigers’ two national football titles under two different head coaches, both of whom may ring a bell.
 In 2003, his red-shirt freshman year, head coach Nick Saban guided the Tigers to a national title.
Then, in his senior year in 2007, head coach Les Miles coached LSU to a national title.
Zenon played left cornerback for the championship team. However, his most significant college moment came against the Tennessee  Volunteers in the SEC Championship game during his senior year.
The Tigers were trailing 14-13 with 9:54 remaining in the game, Zenon intercepted a pass and returned it for a game-winning touchdown. The interception was ranked as one of the 10 most memorable individual performances in the history of SEC championship games.
Zenon started his final two years as a cornerback and finished with 91 tackles and nine interceptions. 
He went undrafted in the NFL but signed with the New York Jets for one year. Zenon stayed in the NFL for two more years. 
Zenon has been an assistant football coach at Breaux Bridge High School for the last four years, and he was the defensive coordinator for three of those four years.
His defense has been one of the toughest in the district in the past three years.
“I am ready to be a head coach,” Zenon said Wednesday. “My experience has prepared me. “I have learned a lot from Nick Saban, Les Miles and Corey Raymond. They have taught me to be a student of the game. To know what is happening around you. I plan to teach that to the players at Abbeville.”
Zenon’s love is on the defensive side of the football because of his past. When he gets to Abbeville, he is expected to bring a couple of assistant coaches who have played college football and know how to run an offense.
The new coaches will observe the players and then adjust their offense to the players’ strengths, he said. He likes to keep it simple and run “Veer” or “Power I” offensive formations. The spread offense is also in the mix.
“Nick Saban surrounded himself with good coaches. I plan to do the same,” he added.
Leaving Breaux Bridge High School will be difficult because he fostered a “family” atmosphere there. He aims to cultivate a similar coaching relationship at Abbeville High School.
“I believe the kids at Breaux Bridge High are similar to those at Abbeville High,” said Zenon. “I want the kids at Abbeville to know they can come and talk to me if they have problems or need help. It’s not always about sports.”