YOUNGSTOWN — The rumors swirled just about every season since Bo Pelini took the job as the Youngstown State University football coach.

His name was synonymous with job openings at colleges around the country from the time he was hired back in December 2014, but nothing ever transpired.

This time, the rumors were true.

Pelini resigned as YSU’s coach Monday and was hired by the LSU Tigers to be their defensive coordinator. It will be his second stint with LSU, where he was defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2007 under then-coach Les Miles. He helped lead the Tigers to a BCS championship in 2007.

“The opportunity to return to LSU is truly unique,” said Pelini in a joint statement with the YSU athletics department. “Culturally, with my prior experience at LSU, I know it is a great fit for me. The chance to work with coach (Ed) Orgeron, the ability to take charge of the Tigers defense. 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.”

The last chapter was an up-and-down five-year tenure with the Penguins.

He finished with a record of 33-28, guiding YSU to an FCS Championship game in 2016 (the Penguins lost, 28-14, to James Madison). Two players from that team (Avery Moss and Derek Rivers) moved on to the NFL. That was pretty much the lone highlight for Pelini, however, as YSU didn’t reach the playoffs again.

His winning percentage at YSU (54%) was significantly lower than the 71% mark he earned in seven seasons as head coach at Nebraska, where he was fired in 2014 despite the rather successful tenure. The Penguins struggled against the elite teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, going 18-22 in the conference during Pelini’s five years.

He had two winning seasons (12-4 in 2016 and 6-5 in 2017), which wasn’t what fans expected after his surprising hire was met with excitement and high expectations.

Still, the fiery Youngstown native and Cardinal Mooney graduate left with nothing but good things to say about the Penguins.

“The past five years have been terrific,” he said. “… The experience for me professionally to coach my hometown university and to appear in a championship game is something I will always treasure. For Mary Pat and I, Youngstown will always hold an element of home for us with our children graduating from Cardinal Mooney High School and so many of our family members residing here. My YSU days will always be special for the entire Pelini family.”

His departure was somewhat of a surprise.

Pelini signed a three-year contract extension in February and spoke highly of his last two recruiting classes, which included several players from the Mahoning Valley. He opened up about some of the disappointments of this past season and was adamant he had a detailed plan to turn around the program.

The chance to return to the Southeastern Conference was apparently too tempting. Pelini will receive a hefty raise from the $200,538 base salary he received this past season. His three-year contract with LSU is reportedly for $2.2 million per season.

Pelini, who also was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma and spent time as an assistant in the NFL, was wildly successful with the Tigers in his first stint. LSU was third in the nation in total defense each of those years and won the aforementioned BCS title.

Pelini replaces Dave Aranda, who helped the Tigers win the national championship this past year. Aranda, who was the highest paid assistant in college football last year at $2.5 million, is now the head coach at Baylor.

YSU director of athletics Ron Strollo thanked Pelini and said he will begin the search for a new head coach immediately.

“We’d like to thank Coach Pelini for the passion that he brought on the field and for returning home to lead our program the past five seasons,” he said in the joint statement. “We wish Bo and his family the best of luck in their future. The Youngstown State football program is very special to this community, and we will work tirelessly to find someone to build on what coach Pelini established here.”