Sean Lewis, who was stripped of his play-calling duties as Colorado's offensive coordinator late in the season, is being hired as head coach at San Diego State, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.
The person spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the hiring hasn't been made official. Lewis is expected to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday, the person said.
Lewis replaces Brady Hoke, who was allowed to finish the season after the school announced his retirement with two games to go. The Aztecs (4-8) finished tied for last in the Mountain West and played in front of thousands of empty seats in their new 35,000-seat stadium. Hoke had three seasons left on his contract when the school announced his retirement.
The defensive-minded Hoke failed to develop potent offenses, even when the Aztecs won a school-record 12 games in 2021.
Lewis was demoted into a co-offensive coordinator role when first-year coach Deion Sanders promoted former NFL coach Pat Shurmur earlier this month. After a promising 3-0 start, Colorado finished 4-8 overall and last in the Pac-12 at 1-8.
Lewis was head coach at Kent State from 2018-2022, going 24-31 and leading the Golden Flashes to two bowl games.
