Sherman Lewis, the legendary college halfback, NFL offensive coordinator and assistant coach who got his NFL start as a pre-Super Bowl Jets jack-of-all-trades, died Friday. He was 83.
Lewis was a diminutive (5-9 ,160) but dynamic halfback out of the state of Kentucky. In his three years at Michigan State, he produced 252 carries for 1,566 yards, three seasons of 6.0 yards plus per carry, 16 rushing touchdowns and 7 more TDs on 22 career receptions. He started the 1963 season being named a Spartans captain and finished it as their MVP. He came in third in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was named a consensus All-American and Player of the Year by The Football News.
He even excelled in the classroom, earning his master's degree in education administration from MSU in 1974.
His skills and smarts attracted both the Jets, who drafted him 64th overall in the 1964 AFL Draft, and the Cleveland Browns, who took him 250th in the NFL Draft. Initially, Lewis chose neither, spending his first two seasons as a CFL player for the Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders.
He came to the Jets in 1966, wore uniform number 7, and stayed for two seasons. He was described as "one of the smallest men in pro football" but also one of the most versatile as a flanker on offense, a DB on defense and a kick returner.
He tore knee ligaments, however, returning a kickoff against San Diego in the fifth game in '' 1966 and his first season was over. He rehabbed and came back in '67 for five more games before being waived, then signed to the Jets' taxi squad..
And that was it for Lewis as a player. His career totals in 10 Jets games (no starts) included 14 punt returns for 100 yards (7.1 yards/return) and 6 kickoff returns for 143 yards (23.8 yards/return).
But while his playing career was over, Lewis was just getting started in the pro ranks.
"The most respected people in my neighborhood and at school were coaches," **he told Packer Plus and** **T****he Milwaukee Journal Sentinel** in 2015. "I looked up to them and wanted to be like them. Growing up, I knew I wanted to coach someday."
And that's just what he did. Lewis headed back to his alma mater and coached at Michigan State for 14 seasons. In 1983 he stepped up to the NFL, joining Bill Walsh's 49ers staff and coaching running backs for eight seasons and wide receivers in 1991.
Then he joined another NFL coaching legend in Mike Holmgren and served as Green Bay's OC for eight seasons. He also was Minnesota's OC in 2000-01 and Detroit's OC in 2003-04. He finished his coaching résumé with a one-year stint as Washington's offensive consultant in 2009.
Super Bowls? Lewis garnered four rings. He was a winning assistant coach in four title games, three under Walsh and one under Holmgren. For his work on his different pro teams, he was presented with an Award of Excellence by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023.
Lewis admitted that despite his achievements, his work with Brett Favre early in his playing career, and even a few Holmgren endorsements, he interviewed for just several NFL head coaching jobs and never got the final call. But he took it all in stride.
"We won Super Bowls in San Francisco and one in Green Bay," Lewis said. "And I got to work with some great coaches and players. No question I wished I had the chance to be a head coach. But looking back, I did all I could. I was disappointed, but I'm not going to hang my hat on that. I had a great career and was fortunate to coach in the NFL."
