Michigan State great Sherman Lewis, who won 4 Super Bowls as assistant coach, dies at 83

Former Michigan State All-American and longtime assistant coach Sherman Lewis, who won four Super Bowls as an assistant, died Friday at age 83.

Lewis won two Super Bowl titles as running backs coach on Bill Walsh’s staff with the San Francisco 49ers in 1985 and 1989 and another one with the 49ers under George Seifert in 1990. His final championship came in 1997 as offensive coordinator for Mike Holmgren’s Green Bay Packers.

Lewis played three seasons at Michigan State, and in his final season in 1963, he earned first-team All-America honors and was third in the Heisman Trophy voting — Navy QB Roger Staubach won — after rushing for 577 yards (6.4 yards per carry) with 303 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns in nine games. The Spartans finished ninth in the final AP poll that season.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Sherman Lewis.

Lewis, a first-team All-American in 1963, served as an assistant coach at MSU before a decorated NFL coaching career that included four Super Bowl titles.

We send our deepest condolences to the Lewis family. pic.twitter.com/BojEMzA2Ah

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) May 16, 2026

He was inducted into the Michigan State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001 for a college career that also included winning three Big Ten track titles — one in the 300-yard dash and two in the long jump.

He was drafted in the ninth round of the AFL Draft by the New York Jets, and the Cleveland Browns selected him in the 18th round of the NFL Draft the same year.

After a short playing career in the CFL and a brief stint with the New York Jets (1966-67), when he mostly returned punts and kickoffs and was listed as a defensive back, he returned to East Lansing, Mich., where he was an assistant on the Spartans’ coaching staff from 1969-82.

He then spent time as running backs coach for the 49ers (1983-90), receivers coach for the 49ers (1991), offensive coordinator for the Packers (1992-99), offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings (2000-01), offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions (2002-04) and offensive consultant for Washington in 2009.