Damione Lewis is in the news as he is hired as the new Defense Line coach for the Colorado Buffaloes which is headed by the legendary Deion Sanders. The decision was taken after keeping in mind Lewis’s own experience with the NFL as a player more than a decade ago. His selection in the NFL Draft happened in the year 2001, which was more than two decades ago!

On the 12th of July, Colorado decided to promote Damione as the new DL Coach for the team from his previous position as defensive analyst for Colorado. This was done keeping in mind the kind of experience he has. He played in the NFL for 10 straight years and can be called an NFL veteran without any hesitation. Well, there is a lot more depth to Lewis than all this. Let us dive deeper and know all about Damione.

Damione Lewis’s early life

Damione Lewis was born on 1st March 1978 in Texas, United States. Lewis attended Sulphur Springs High School located in Texas, where he grew up. His interest in football could be seen when he joined the football team of the University of Miami as a true freshman. Yet, he had that spark in him that kept him going even in his freshman year with no such experience on the field as such. However, he decided to redshirt himself, as he wanted to lengthen his period of eligibility. Lewis joined back in the second year and left a remarkable mark of 72 tackles, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble which for a freshman like him was no joke. He did not stop there in his college years, in his senior year, he recorded 39 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles which earned him the title of first-team All-Big East and Third-team All-American by the Sporting News. Lewis started 41 of 43 games at Miami during his college years, which tells how great of a player he was that everyone trusted him as a game starter.

Moving on to Damione’s 10-year NFL Career – which started in the year 2001, his first NFL Draft with the St. Louis Rams. His commitment started with a $7.5 million contract with the Rams on July 27, 2001, which was the start of his flourishing NFL career with the Rams. In his first year, he played 9 games for the team but then he was placed on injured reserve so he could not continue that year. Next up, he came up stronger and continued playing. Lewis played 16 games then in 12, then in 16 again, each passing year from 2002 to 2004. His last year with the Rams was the year 2005. During his 5 year journey with the team, he started 29 games out of a total of 69 and recorded 10.5 sacks, which in itself is a great number keeping in mind his injured reserve.

Then came the next team, the Carolina Panthers. Lewis played for the team from the year 2005 to 2008, a three-year commitment. He played a total of 31 games in the years 2006 and 2007 before the team re-signed Lewis to a new three-year $14 million extension, this re-signing was a clear indication of his flourishing career. Lewis was released in 2010 and he decided to move on with the New England Patriots, where he lasted for 5 months and then he finally committed to Houston Texans. Well, Houston was Lewis’s last team as a player. It called it a game on September 2, 2011, which marked his 10-year journey with the NFL. 

Damione Lewis’s as a Coach

After spending 2019 at FIU as the Panthers’ Assistant Athletic Director of Football/Player Development. For the Seattle Seahawks in the year 2020, Lewis became a coach under Pete Carroll. Then, in the year 2023, Lewis was hired as a defensive analyst for the Colorado Buffaloes, appointed by Coach Prime. From there on the 12th of July 2024, Lewis was promoted to be the defensive line coach of the Buffaloes, which is a big step ahead for him. Originally Coch Prime onboarded Lewis as an analyst but now he promoted Lewis to replace Sal Sunseri who has left the program after the 2023 season. The reason why Coach Prime promoted Damione as a DL Coach is that his philosophy is simple – he wants to build a program that sends players to the league, and he wants coaches who will help them achieve that dream of his and Damione is one of them!

During an interview on the 12th of July on NFL Network’s The Insiders from Las Vegas, Coach Prime talked about his philosophy of having the best man, he said, “I think at another level – we have some tremendous college coaches on our staff. But when it comes to coordinating and it comes to the majority of the staff, I want to be around guys that have been there, guys that have done that. Because our lights are bright, man.” When he said he wants a guy he has been there, we presume he was thinking about Damione, who is a 10-year NFL veteran, whom Coach Prime promoted as the new DL 2 days after making that statement.

With that much experience and the trust of people like none other than Deion Sanders himself builds up a lot of pressure, but experience also teaches you how to handle that pressure well and perform at your best. In the coming fall season, we are all set to witness what Colorado has to offer, let’s be ready for what is to come our way.