San Diego State officially named Sean Lewis as its new head football coach, calling him “one of the most innovative minds in college football over the past decade” in a news release Wednesday morning to announce the hiring. He will be introduced at a 10 a.m. news conference at Snapdragon Stadium.
The news confirms Tuesday’s Union-Tribune report that Lewis, 37, was the Aztecs’ pick.
Lewis spent the 2023 season as Colorado’s offensive coordinator following five seasons as the head coach at Kent State, where he turned around a program that totaled 10 wins in the four seasons before he arrived.
Kent State posted a 24-31 record from 2018-22 under Lewis, including a 22-21 mark over his final four seasons.
Running Lewis’ “FlashFAST” offense, the Golden Flashes appeared in two bowl games. Kent State averaged 606.5 yard and 49.8 points per game during the COVID-shortened 2020 season; a year later, the school threw for 3,425 yards and rushed for 3,482 yards, setting program records for total yards, first downs and plays run.
“San Diego State University, my family and I can’t express how excited we are to be joining this incredible community,” Lewis said in the release. “We are looking forward to partnering with all of you in serving and leading our amazing football program. This time is now to support and make Snapdragon Stadium the place to be for Fast, Physical, Fun Aztec Football.”
“Sean has shown that he can develop student athletes both on-and-off the field. On the field, he has a proven track record as a dynamic offensive playcaller, and I look forward to seeing what he will do for our program in terms of recruitment,” SDSU President Adela de la Torre said in the release. “He will surely energize our fan base – a fan base made up of our students and their families, our faculty and staff, our donors, and nearly 500,000 living alumni.”
Lewis replaces Brady Hoke as SDSU’s 20th head football coach. The school announced earlier this month that Hoke would not return.
