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EXCLUSIVE: Former Miami Hurricane Damione Lewis to be named Defensive Tackle Coach working alongside Jason Taylor

On3 imageby:CaneSport.com Staff•about 11 hours•

CaneSport

Damione Lewis

D-Lew is coming home.

Miami Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal is rebuilding his defensive coaching staff after a woeful 2024 season that saw the team allow over 30 points per game in its ACC portion of the schedule while finishing the year ranked 70th in the nation in scoring defense. There’s a new coordinator in Corey Hetherman, who runs an attacking style 4-2-5 with an emphasis on allowing the speed of the Miami defense to make the difference in games. The team also has a new DB coach in Zac Etheridge.

Now Cristobal has hired a defensive tackles coach that will complement returning DL coach Jason Taylor. That new coach is a name familiar to Miami fans: Former Cane defensive lineman Damione Lewis.

Lewis met with his players at Colorado on Tuesday morning then immediately headed to the airport to catch a flight to Miami. His hiring will be official once he concludes the traditional on-Boarding of any new university employee.

Lewis, who was the defensive line coach at Colorado this past year after spending three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, was the 12th overall pick in the NFL Draft coming out of UM in 2001. He enjoyed a 10-year pro career playing for three different NFL teams and finishing with 23.5 sacks. During his playing days at UM he was a second-team All-Big East selection as a junior in 1999 and was first team in 2000, ending his tenure at Miami with 220 tackles and 15.5 sacks.

After finishing his NFL playing days in 2010, he was FIU’s  assistant athletic director for player development and community relations in 2019 and started his coaching career in 2020 as a DL coach for the Seattle Seahawks under his good friend/coordinator Clint Hurtt. After a staff shakeup in Seattle, he moved on to Colorado in 2024 initially as an analyst, then was promoted to defensive tackles coach when Sal Sunseri was replaced.

Colorado finished last season with a 9-4 record with Lewis on the staff and had the nation’s No. 71 ranked run defense. The team ended with 37 sacks. DE BJ Green II was the conference’s Newcomer of the Year with 12 TFL and 7.5 sacks, and DT Chidozie Nwankwo was an honorable mention selection with 25 tackles, three for losses and 1.5 sacks. Lewis didn’t coach any Pro Bowl DT’s in his time at Seattle.

At Miami Lewis has his work cut out with a defensive tackle position that loses Simeon Barrow (421 reps), CJ Clark (345 reps), Marley Cook (67 reps) and Anthony Campbell (48 reps). The main returner was primarily a backup last year, Ahmad Moten (293 reps, 18 tackles, 1 sack), and Miami also added a solid portal pickup in Louisiana Tech standout David Blay (had 46 tackles, 10.5 for losses and 6.5 sacks this past season). It’s possible ends Akheem Mesidor (5.5 sacks) and Rueben Bain (3.5 sacks) could work inside at times, and there’s young talent here including former 5-star Justin Scott (played 113 reps as a true freshman in 2024, had two TFL and a sack).

So now it’s on Lewis to help figure out the starters, develop players and get the most possible production from Miami’s interior defense.

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