Sherman Lewis, who won three Super Bowls with the 49ers as an assistant coach to begin a successful NFL career that spanned three decades but surprisingly never included an opportunity to be a head coach, has died. He was 83.
Lewis had been an assistant coach at Michigan State, where he was an All-America running back and in 1963 finished behind Roger Staubach and Billy Lothridge for the Heisman Trophy, when he joined Bill Walsh’s coaching staff in 1983. He served as the 49ers’ running backs coach from 1983-1990, and receivers coach in 1991. The 49ers won the franchise’s second Super Bowl during Lewis’ second season, and then they won the title in back-to-back years after the 1988 and 1989 seasons.
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DETROIT- NOVEMBER 28: Special assistance-offense coach Sherman Lewis of the Detroit Lions watches his team play the New England Patriots on November 28, 2002 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. The Patriots won 20-12. (Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
In 1992, he followed Mike Holmgren to Green Bay to be his offensive coordinator, staying with the Packers until 1999, and winning another Super Bowl.
He later was offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings (2000-01) and Lions (2003-04), reuniting in Detroit with his old colleague in Green Bay, Steve Mariucci. Lewis’ last coaching job was an offensive consultant for the Washington football team in 2009.
In 2023, Lewis was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame with an award of excellence.
Lewis never did get the opportunity to be a head coach, which baffled many of his former players and former colleagues through the years.
“We won Super Bowls in San Francisco and one in Green Bay,” Lewis told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2015. “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.”
Lewis played three seasons at Michigan State, from 1961-63. He rushed for 16 touchdowns in his three seasons at Michigan State, averaging 6.2 yards a carry.
After college, he went on to have a brief playing career in the Canadian Football League, before turning to coaching. He joined Daugherty’s staff at Michigan State in 1969, and remained on staff through 1982, under Daughtery’s successors, including Denny Stolz, Darryl Rogers and Muddy Waters.
Lewis then made the jump to the NFL with the 49ers.
Lewis was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001, calling it “one of the greatest honors I’ve ever had.” He was a captain of the football team as well as the track-and-field team, which he joined his sophomore year. He won a Big Ten championship in the long jump and 300-yard dash.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942, Lewis played parts of two seasons in the CFL and parts of two seasons in the AFL. In the old AFL with the New York Jets, he played on defense and on special teams, recovering two fumbles.
Tony Paul of The Detroit News contributed to this report.