Sean Lewis’ collegiate coaching journey has taken him to places like Omaha, Syracuse, Boulder and Kent, Ohio.
He may be in the best location of them all, however, in his current position: Head coach at San Diego State.
“This has been a wild journey,” the Oak Lawn native told Southwest Regional. “Right now, it’s taken me all over from Nebraska to upstate New York and eight years in Ohio. But the game is a beautiful thing.
“The football gods have taken care of me and my family. I don’t know what the weather is there (in Chicago) right now, but I’m running around southern California and it’s 79 (degrees) and sunny. It’s hard not to like. I’m grateful for being born and raised there and it hardened me and made me who I am, but I’ll take the 79 for sure.”
In 2025, the Aztecs experienced quite a turnaround in Lewis’ second season with the program. After going 3-9 in his first season in 2024, SDSU improved to 9-4 this season and appeared in the New Mexico Bowl, falling 49-47 to North Texas on Dec. 27.
“I felt like our staff and players did a great job connecting as a team,” Lewis said. “I felt like we built a really cohesive group that could withstand the highs and lows of the season.
“They were really tough and did a great job really taking each day one day at a time and owning the journey that we went on together.”
In high school, Lewis was a two-year starter at quarterback for Richards, graduating in 2004. While a Bulldog, Lewis played for the legendary Gary Korhonen. He credits his late mentor with helping to develop leadership principles Lewis still relies upon as a Division I head coach 22 years later.
“I’ve been very fortunate with Coach ‘Kor’ to have a tremendous leader from early on who showed us how important having standards were,” Lewis said. “I still remember that we would play a majority of our games on Friday nights and then Saturday mornings would be an 8 a.m. film session.
“It didn’t matter who you were but if you were on the wrong side of that door at 8 a.m. when he closed it to start the film session, you weren’t playing the next week. Everyone knew that and everyone understood that there was no one who was above that. ‘GK’ did an unbelievable job of prioritizing the team and the program above all things.
“He shaped me from a very young age in a very positive way.”
● Findlay (Ohio) junior wide receiver Denny Furlong (Mount Carmel) was named to the All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference first team.
The Evergreen Park resident totaled 44 receptions on the season for 811 yards to lead the league in receiving yardage. He added eight touchdowns and led the league in yards per catch (18.4). Furlong tied for the most receiving TDs in a game this season with 156 yards and three touchdowns against Walsh.