Sean Lewis back in head coaching ranks, this time at San Diego State

By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Sean Lewis returned to the head coaching ranks when he was hired by San Diego State on Wednesday to revitalize a program that dropped to the bottom of the Mountain West standings.

Lewis had been offensive coordinator at Colorado, where first-year coach Deion Sanders took away his play-calling duties late in the season.

Prior to that, Lewis went 24-31 as head coach at Kent State from 2018-2022 and led the Golden Flashes to two bowl games. He was co-offensive coordinator at Syracuse and Bowling Green before moving to Kent State.

Lewis replaces Brady Hoke, who finished the season after the school announced his retirement with two games to go. The Aztecs (4-8) finished tied for last in the Mountain West and played in front of thousands of empty seats in their new 35,000-seat stadium. Hoke had three seasons left on his contract when the school announced his retirement.

The defensive-minded Hoke failed to develop potent offenses, even when the Aztecs won a school-record 12 games in 2021.

Lewis was demoted into a co-offensive coordinator role when Sanders promoted former NFL coach Pat Shurmur in early November. The switch came after a loss at UCLA in which Sanders’ quarterback son was under constant pressure. Shurmur called plays from the booth down to the field, where Lewis relayed them.

After a promising 3-0 start, Colorado finished 4-8 overall and last in the Pac-12 at 1-8.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football