Report: Colorado to promote Damione Lewis to defensive line coach

Colorado is preparing for a shakeup on its defensive coaching staff. Former NFL player Damione Lewis is set to move up to defensive line coach to replace Sal Sunseri, according to The Daily Camera’s Brian Howell.

Lewis joined the Colorado staff earlier this offseason as an analyst as Deion Sanders got ready for his second season as head coach. He previously served as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive line coach from 2020-21 before moving to defensive tackles coach and assistant defensive line coach from 2022-23. He also played in the NFL from 2001-10 with the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans.

Sunseri spent last season as Colorado’s defensive line coach, but is no longer with the program and has been away throughout the offseason, Howell reported. He came to CU from Alabama, where he served as a special assistant to the head coach after three years as outside linebackers coach under Nick Saban.

Lewis joins a long line of Colorado assistants with NFL experience, including both coordinators this season. Sanders and the Buffaloes have made a push to get more coaches on staff who have been in the NFL, with more than 159 years worth of experience, Sanders estimated at Big 12 Media Days earlier this week.

Coach Prime’s reason behind that philosophy is simple. He wants to build a program that sends players to the league, and he wants to coaches who will help them achieve that.

“I’m a pro, man,” Sander said on NFL Network’s The Insiders from Las Vegas. “Through thick and the thin, I’m a pro. And I think at another level – we have some tremendous college coaches on our staff. But when it comes to the 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. And I can’t have guys getting big, you’re getting a little sensitive, you’re getting a little salty, you’re getting a little afraid when the things light up over there on that sideline.

“So I like pros because we’ve been there, we’ve done that and we understand one another. That’s not taking nothing against our collegiate coaches that we have on staff. But I think right now … we have over 140-some years of pro experience on the sidelines, and that’s relatable to where these young men want to go. It’s hard to take somebody where you’ve never been.”