Lewis Names Coordinators
1/5/2018 9:24:00 AM | Football
Kent State Head Coach Sean Lewis recently announced the hiring of Andrew Sowder as the team's offensive coordinator and Tom Kaufman as defensive coordinator for the 2018 season. Both Sowder and Kaufman have extensive experience working with Lewis.
Kaufman will also serve associate head coach at Kent State. He spent the 2017 season as defensive coordinator at Chattanooga and will bring a new 3-4 look to the Golden Flashes' defense.
"Tom is a Northeast Ohio guy," Lewis said. "He's a relentless recruiter and a great football mind. He's going to bring an aggressive, attacking defense that was No. 1 in the SoCon last year. I couldn't be more excited to have him on board."
Sowder spent the 2017 season as San Jose State's offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. One year earlier, he served as offensive quality control coach at Texas. He'll bring a fast-paced spread offense to the Golden Flashes in 2018.
"I have a great relationship with Andrew," Lewis said. "He helped groom and develop Roger Lewis who's an NFL starter with the New York Giants. He understands our system and the idea of playing FlashFast. He fully embraces it and I can't wait to get on the field with him."
Kaufman spent the 2016 season alongside Lewis as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach at Syracuse. Prior to that, Lewis, Kaufman and Sowder spent four seasons together at Bowling Green (2014-15) and Eastern Illinois (2012-13) under Dino Babers.
The Falcons won a MAC Championship in 2015 and an East Division title in 2014, while the Panthers won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference championships in 2012-13.
Sowder played two seasons as a wide receiver and tight end at Baylor, before becoming a student assistant. In 2011, he served as running backs coach at West Texas A&M, helping the Buffs rank 14th in Division II in total offense. He then coached wide receivers at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green, where he also served as recruiting coordinator and director of player personnel.
While at Bowling Green, Kaufman directed the Falcons' defensive line and special teams. He also spent six seasons at the Division III level, spending time at Heidelberg, Case Western Reserve and Chicago, where he served as defensive coordinator.
Current assistant Colin Ferrell will now coach the outside linebackers after serving as defensive line coach for two seasons.
The remainder of Kent State's staff is expected to be named soon. The Golden Flashes' 2018 season opens Sept. 1, at Illinois.
