AP Source: Kent State's Lewis joining Sanders at Colorado

Published Dec. 5, 2022 9:30 p.m. ET

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Kent State's Sean Lewis is leaving the school after five seasons to become new Colorado coach Deion Sanders' offensive coordinator, a person familiar with the hiring told The Associated Press on Monday night.

Lewis will be the first prominent hire by Sanders, according to the person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is still being finalized.

Lewis was college football's youngest coach when he took over the Golden Flashes in 2018. Known for his wide-open offensive attack, the 36-year-old Lewis went 24–31 at Kent State, leading the program to bowl appearances in 2019 and 2021.

ESPN was first to report Lewis' departure for Colorado, which hired Sanders away from Jackson State on Saturday.

Sanders is 27-5 in three seasons at Jackson State. The Hall of Fame cornerback will coach the Tigers in the Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 before getting to work full-time on turning around a Colorado team that went 1-11 this season.

Lewis took over a Kent State program in shambles and built it into a consistent winner inside the Mid-American Conference. His teams played an up-tempo offensive system, and he dubbed the team's culture as “Flash Fast.”

It's not yet known who will replace Lewis at Kent State, which went 5-7 this season but gave No. 1 Georgia a scare before losing 39-22.

Lewis was also a candidate for Cincinnati's opening filled by former Louisville coach Scott Satterfield.

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AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo contributed to this report.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2

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