Guest The Gecko Report post Posted January 6, 2005 from DetroitLions.com: ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- At his weekly media conference on Monday, Lions head coach Steve Mariucci announced that offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis would be retiring from his post, effective Feb. 1. Lewis -- who has been with Detroit from 2002-04 -- has coached in 22 NFL seasons (37 overall). "He's a Detroit Lion forever, and we're going to miss him," says Mariucci, who started coaching with Lewis at Green Bay in 1992. "He's a great man and a heck of a coach." Before coming to Detroit, Lewis spent two seasons (2000-01) as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator. Prior to Minnesota, Lewis spent eight seasons with the Packers, as offensive coordinator from 1992-99 and nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers as wide receivers coach (1989-91) and running backs coach (1983-88). Lewis’s NFL teams have made 15 playoff appearances, including 11 divisional championships, five NFC Championships and four Super Bowl titles. Under Lewis in 2000, the Vikings’ offense averaged 24.8 points per game and advanced to the NFC Championship game -- behind a quarterback (Daunte Culpepper) who had never thrown an NFL pass. Culpepper went on to earn the staring spot on the NFC squad in the 2001 Pro Bowl after ranking among the league’s passing leaders having completed 297-of-494 passes for 3,937 yards, 33 touchdowns, (63 percent) and a 98 quarterback rating. In Lewis’s eight seasons with Green Bay, the club never had a losing season, made the playoffs six times, earned three NFC Central division titles, claimed two NFC Championships and won Super Bowl XXXI against New England. Seven different offensive players made the Pro Bowl 15 times during his tenure with the Packers. From 1983-91, Lewis began his learning of the "West Coast Offense" under Bill Walsh. He served as wide receivers coach from 1989-91 and running backs coach from 1983-88. As running backs coach, Lewis tutored stars such as Roger Craig and Tom Rathman (Lions running backs coach) and coached Jerry Rice and John Taylor, as he supervised the development of the wide receivers. The 49ers won three Super Bowls while Lewis was there. Prior to his NFL coaching tenure, Lewis spent 14 years (1969-82) in various coaching capacities at Michigan State University, his alma mater. He served as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/linebackers from 1980-82, defensive backs coach from 1970-79 and began his stint with MSU as offensive backs coach in 1969. Lewis had been a two-way All-America halfback at Michigan State, where he was second runner-up for the 1963 Heisman Trophy (behind Roger Staubach and Billy Lothridge) and was named college football’s ‘Player of the Year’ by Football News. He was the Spartans’ co-captain in 1963. Lewis was also a standout track and field performer, as well as a captain of the track team two straight years from 1963-64. I for one am ecstatic about this! I've been itching for new coordinators since Morningweg was here. Jauron was a great choice for D-coordinator and I was just waiting for Sherman Lewis to be replaced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted January 6, 2005 I remember when he was THE guy that got lots of run for a head coach several years ago when the minority head coach "crisis" first became a big deal. I never really understood it though, as I never saw what he did that was so wonderful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nogoodnick 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2005 The Lions need a co-ordinator who is good with quarterbacks. They've invested too much in Harrington to give up on him and they should focus on making him better. They should look at someone like Rick Neuhiesel who reporterdly is interviewing for the Ravens OC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lomasmoney 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2005 I don't think the coordinator was the problem for the Lions, the team was Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted January 7, 2005 There's a lot of problems with the Lions. Getting rid of Charlie Batch was their first big mistake. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted January 7, 2005 Why did they ever hire Morningweg? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Der Kommissar 0 Report post Posted January 7, 2005 Why did they ever hire Morningweg? Because they wanted Mariucci, but couldn't get him, so they nabbed his offensive coordinator instead. At least he gave the Lions classic moments like saying that he "wanted the wind" when winning an overtime coin toss. This caused his team to lose the game when the opponent scored on their first overtime possession. That was one of the most awesome coaching gaffes ever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
