He's coming home. On Monday, breaking news arrived that the Miami football team has brought in a huge new addition for the coaching staff, with Damione Lewis being hired as a new defensive line coach. He's going to be working closely with fellow DL coach Jason Taylor.
Most recently, Lewis was working under Deion Sanders in Colorado, turning around the defensive line for the Big 12 squad. Last season, Colorado finished 11th in the country by averaging three sacks per game. There's a reason so many fans in Boulder are devastated over his lateral move to Miami.
The move makes sense for Lewis, though, as he was a superstar for the Canes during his playing days, leading to the Rams taking him in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Lewis and Taylor, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, working together is going to be unreal for the defensive front. Not only that, but it will also be major for recruiting too.
Story: Miami is expected to hire Colorado's Damione Lewis, a UM alum, to work alongside Jason Taylor with the defensive line, @247Canes and @mzenitz have learned.
— Gaby Urrutia (@GabyUrrutia247) February 11, 2025
Lewis was a 1st round pick out of Miami and played in 141 games over 10 years in the NFL.https://t.co/s139jCAdAL pic.twitter.com/5k4m9IfQ2z
New Miami DL coach Damione Lewis is going to make a big impact for the Canes
Lewis wasn't known as being an elite recruiter for Colorado or anything, but can you imagine the pitch the Canes can now deliver to prospects high on their board moving forward on the defensive line? Cristobal can sit down with a kid's parents and simply state that their baby boy will be getting coached up by a former first-round pick AND someone enshrined forever in Canton.
Playing for Miami is already an easy call, but knowing you're going to be getting help on and off the field from Lewis and Taylor seems like it'd be pretty dang tough to pass up on. Lewis was a superstar playmaker for the Canes - the only thing that didn't go right for him in Miami is that he missed out on winning a National Championship, with his rookie NFL season being when the Canes won it all.
Despite that, he was an All-American for Miami and then Lewis didn't wait long to hear his name called in the draft, with the Rams indeed taking him in the first round. He has experience in the league as a player and coach too, having spent 2020-2023 with the Seattle Seahawks as an assistant. From our chair, adding Lewis is a major win for Cristobal, and things are made even better with him poaching the Canes great away from Sanders.