Hall of Famer Ray Lewis reportedly a candidate for Florida Atlantic HC job

Will Ray Lewis be back on a football sideline soon?

The Pro Football Hall of Famer has emerged as a candidate to be Florida Atlantic’s next head coach, ESPN reported Wednesday. FAU on Monday fired Tom Herman less than two seasons into his tenure.

It’s unclear how serious of a candidate Lewis is for the Florida Atlantic job, although Deion Sanders’ coaching path was cited in ESPN’s report as a potential parallel.

But while Lewis doesn’t have any coaching experience, Sanders coached high school football in Texas for the better part of a decade before being hired at Jackson State in 2020. The fellow Hall of Famer went 27-6 over three seasons at the Mississippi FCS program. Sanders left Jackson State for Colorado ahead of the 2023 season, going 4-8 last year. The Buffaloes are 8-2 this year and making a push for a College Football Playoff berth.

If Florida Atlantic were to hire Lewis, it would bring him back to the area where he emerged as a football star. He was a football star at Kathleen High School in Central Florida before playing college ball at Miami. Lewis, of course, went on to become one of the greatest linebackers of all time, helping the Baltimore Ravens win two Super Bowls, twice winning Defensive Player of the Year and earning seven All-Pro and 13 Pro Bowl selections.

Florida Atlantic has struggled since Lane Kiffin’s departure after the 2019 season, going 21-34 over the past five seasons. Kiffin was 27-13 in his three seasons with the program.

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