Years after Sherman Lewis, Black NFL coaches face familiar journey

A generation ago, Sherman Lewis was a lot like Eric Bieniemy. Lewis was one of the NFL’s most accomplished assistant coaches, winning three Super Bowl rings as part of Bill Walsh’s staff with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s and another with Mike Holmgren and the Green Bay Packers . He was in fact the first Black offensive coordinator to win a Super Bowl, a milestone largely overshadowed as Holmgren called the plays when Green Bay toppled New England in XXXI .

Then there are coaches Lewis mentored or otherwise trained along the way. The who’s who lineup includes Andy Reid, Jimmy Raye, Ty Willingham, Steve Mariucci and Jon Gruden. Yet despite his sterling resume, Lewis, who died on May 15 , never had the chance to become an NFL head coach.

He was 83. Sad, that for a man whose life offered so much to celebrate – Lewis was an All-America running back at Michigan State who finished third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy in 1963 – a glass ceiling shutout is also part of his legacy. “It’s just a shame that with the times, the systemic racism that existed – and still exists – he was denied an opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL,” Raye, the former NFL coordinator and legendary Michigan State quarterback, told USA TODAY Sports.

“Yet he never complained about it. He kept his head down and kept going. I guess because of us being from the South and dealing with Jim Crow during our lives, we understood the denial of opportunities that existed.