Sherman Lewis

Sherman Lewis (born June 29, 1942) is an American former professional football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL) before spending 34 years as a coach. Lewis 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).

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.

In October 2009, Lewis 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 Zorn was stripped of those duties by the team's front office. Lewis was not retained after the season.