Sean Lewis (born April 11, 1986) is an American college football coach and former player who is the head coach of the San Diego State Aztecs football team at San Diego State University (SDSU). He was the offensive coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 and the head coach at Kent State University from 2018 to 2022. Lewis played college football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.[1]
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | San Diego State |
| Conference | MW |
| Record | 3–5 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | April 11, 1986 Oak Lawn, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2004–2007 | Wisconsin |
| Position(s) | Tight end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2008–2009 | Harold L. Richards HS (IL) (OC) |
| 2010 | Nebraska–Omaha (TE) |
| 2011 | Akron (GA) |
| 2012–2013 | Eastern Illinois (IWR/TE) |
| 2014 | Bowling Green (WR) |
| 2015 | Bowling Green (co-OC/QB) |
| 2016–2017 | Syracuse (co-OC/QB) |
| 2018–2022 | Kent State |
| 2023 | Colorado (OC/QB) |
| 2024–present | San Diego State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 27–36 |
| Bowls | 1–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 MAC East Division (2021) | |
Playing career
editLewis attended Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois, southwest of Chicago, where he played quarterback.[2] Lewis became the school's career passing leader with 3,131 yards and 39 touchdown passes in three seasons. He added 915 yards on the ground on 192 carries and 15 touchdowns.[3] He then attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, on an athletic scholarship. He was recruited as a quarterback but converted to tight end.[4] A career backup, Lewis' first reception came in a 2007 game against Minnesota. He graduated from Wisconsin in December 2007 with one year of eligibility remaining.[5]
Coaching career
editFollowing graduation, Lewis worked various jobs, including as a personal trainer and a "dull office supply sales job," before turning to coaching as a career. From 2008–2009 he was offensive coordinator at his former high school in Oak Lawn.[6] His first collegiate coaching job was in 2010 at Nebraska–Omaha and he was a graduate assistant at Akron for the 2011 season. At Eastern Illinois, the Panthers made the FCS Playoffs both seasons he was there and reached the quarterfinals in 2013 with a 12-2 record with an offense led by Jimmy Garoppolo. At Bowling Green, his 2015 offense ranked fourth in the nation at 546.8 yards per game and sixth in scoring at 42.2 points per game. He was the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Matt Johnson, who was the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and finished second nationally with 4,946 yards and 46 touchdowns. In 2017, Syracuse averaged 456.3 yards and 24.4 first downs per game and defeated defending national champion Clemson 27-24 on Oct. 13. His Orange offense led the nation in snaps per game (87.8) and in 2016, his offense set or tied 40 school records including most passing yards (3,855) while the 5,290 yards of total offense was second most in program history.[7]
Kent State
editLewis became Kent State University's 22nd head football coach on December 21, 2017.[8] Lewis was 31 when he was hired at Kent State in 2017, becoming the youngest head coach in FBS by three years, where he compiled a 24-31 overall record and 19-17 record in Mid-American Conference play. He led the Golden Flashes to their first-ever Bowl game victory in 2019.[9]
Colorado
editOn December 6, 2022, he was hired at Colorado under new head coach Deion Sanders.[10]
San Diego State
editOn November 29, 2023, San Diego State University hired Lewis as its new head coach, replacing a retiring Brady Hoke, following the 2023 season.[11]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent State Golden Flashes (Mid-American Conference) (2018–2022) | |||||||||
| 2018 | Kent State | 2–10 | 1–7 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2019 | Kent State | 7–6 | 5–3 | T–2nd (East) | W Frisco | ||||
| 2020 | Kent State | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2nd (East) | |||||
| 2021 | Kent State | 7–7 | 6–2 | 1st (East) | L Famous Idaho Potato | ||||
| 2022 | Kent State | 5–7 | 4–4 | T–4th (East) | |||||
| Kent State: | 24–31 | 19–17 | |||||||
| San Diego State Aztecs (Mountain West Conference) (2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024 | San Diego State | 3–5 | 2–1 | ||||||
| San Diego State: | 3–5 | 2–1 | |||||||
| Total: | 27–36 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Sean Lewis Named Flashes' 22nd Head Coach". kentstatesports.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ Paha, Jason (August 17, 2003). "Let the games begin". Southtown Star. p. C-1. Retrieved November 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2005 wisconsin media guide,pg. 46".
- ^ "Bowl practice brings two position changes". Wisconsin State Journal. December 5, 2004. p. E4. Retrieved November 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Polzin, Jim (December 14, 2007). "Success isn't in numbers". The Capital Times. pp. D1, D5. Retrieved November 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Ryan, Shannon (August 31, 2018). "'Age is relative:' As youngest FBS head coach, Oak Lawn's Sean Lewis will make his debut against Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ "Sean Lewis - Football Coach".
- ^ "Sean Lewis - Football Coach".
- ^ "Sean Lewis bio".
- ^ Fortuna, Matt (December 5, 2022). "Colorado adds Kent State coach Sean Lewis as OC". The Athletic. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
- ^ Kenney, Kirk (November 28, 2023). "'Life is too short to huddle' for Sean Lewis, San Diego State's choice for football coach". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved November 28, 2023.