Sherman Lewis (born June 29, 1942) is a former American football coach and player. He spent thirty-four years as a coach, but had been out of football since the end of the 2004 season before joining the Washington Redskins mid-way into the 2009 season. He attended Michigan State University as an undergrad and later received his graduate degree in education administration.

Career

Lewis began his collegiate football career at Michigan State as a halfback. He was named to the College Football All-America Team and finished third behind winner Roger Staubach and runner-up Billy Lothridge for the Heisman Trophy in 1963. His professional playing career included parts of the 1964 and 1965 seasons with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He also played the 1966 and 1967 seasons with the New York Jets of the American Football League (when the AFL was absorbed by, but not yet merged with, the National Football League).

Sherman Lewis

After a brief career as a professional football player, he was hired as an assistant coach for the football team at his alma mater, Michigan State, from 1969 through 1982. He went on to become the running backs coach for Bill Walsh, under whom the San Francisco 49ers won three Super Bowls. In 1992, he became the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers under head coach Mike Holmgren.

Sherman Lewis

In October 2009, Lewis had come out of retirement and was hired by the Washington Redskins to serve as an offensive consultant for the team under head coach Jim Zorn. He eventually began to call plays for the team, after Redskins general manager Vinny Cerrato had taken away those duties from Zorn.

Sherman Lewis

References

1942 births

Living people

All-American college football players

African-American coaches of American football

African-American players of Canadian football

African-American players of American football

American Football League players

Detroit Lions coaches

Green Bay Packers coaches

Minnesota Vikings coaches

San Francisco 49ers coaches

Washington Redskins coaches

Michigan State University alumni

Michigan State Spartans football players

National Football League offensive coordinators

New York Jets players

Toronto Argonauts players

Players of American football from Louisville, Kentucky

Players of Canadian football from Louisville, Kentucky

DuPont Manual High School alumni

21st-century African-American people

20th-century African-American sportspeople