Sherman Lewis, Michigan State football All-American, ex-Lions OC, dies
· Yahoo Sports
Sherman Lewis, one of the greatest Michigan State football players and a former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, died on Friday, May 15, an MSU spokesman confirmed. He was 83.
Lewis, an All-American running back for the Spartans and a longtime assistant coach at MSU and in the NFL, had been in an assisted living facility in recent years according to reporter and historian Tom Shanahan.
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“Sherm Lewis is a Giant in his death as he was a Giant his life,” former MSU star and College Football Hall of Famer Clinton Jones told Shanahan.
Born June 29, 1942 in Louisville, Ky., Lewis arrived at MSU to play for Duffy Daugherty in football and to run track for the Spartans and became a captain of both teams. In 1962, Lewis earned honorable mention All-American honors and second-team All-Big Ten, then a year later was a first-team All-American and the 1963 Football News Player of the Year after rushing for 577 yards on 90 carries catching 11 passes for 303 yards. Lewis ran for 1,566 yards and 23 touchdowns, was a Big Ten champion in the long jump and 300-yard dash, and he was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.
Lewis played professionally with Toronto of the Canadian Football League (1964-65) and the New York Jets (1966) of the AFL before returning to MSU as an assistant coach from 1969-82 under Daugherty, Denny Stolz, Darryl Rogers and Frank “Muddy” Waters. He then went on to an accomplished career coaching in the NFL, spending nine seasons with San Francisco from 1983-91 and helping lead the 49ers to three Super Bowl wins while serving as a mentor to Roger Craig as running backs coach and then Jerry Rice and John Taylor as wide receivers coach.
In 1992, Lewis became offensive coordinator in Green Bay, a role he held for eight years from 1992-99. Lewis helped Brett Favre, former MSU star Andre Rison and the Packers win the 1996 Super Bowl. He was the first Black offensive coordinator to win a Super Bowl title.
Lewis was offensive coordinator for two seasons in Minnesota (2000-01) before spending his final three seasons with the Lions, including his last two as offensive coordinator from 2003-04.
Over 22 seasons in the NFL, Lewis’ teams compiled a cumulative 219-131-1 record. He was passed over twice for the MSU coaching job, first when Waters was hired in 1980 and then again in 1995 when the Spartans hired Nick Saban.
“Sherman Lewis was a true Spartan legend,” former MSU star Jimmy Raye, who also coached with Lewis and in the NFL, told Shanahan. “His legacy extended beyond the football field, where his electrifying play gained All-American recognition. He was the first player from the segregated South to play a substantial role for coach Duffy Daugherty and the Spartans. …
“As a mentor and lifelong friend, he set the standard for many future Spartans players and coaches to come. REST IN LOVE my brother.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @crissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sherman Lewis, Michigan State football All-American, ex-Lions OC, dies