Ray Lewis A Candidate For FAU Head Coach Opening? NFL Pro-Bowl Coaching Experience Doesn’t Count

Is former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis trying to follow in the footsteps of Deion Sanders and Eddie George by becoming a college football head coach? 

Well, it sounds like Ray Lewis is at least throwing his name into the ring for the Florida Atlantic job, according to a post by Adam Schefter. 

I don't know how much stock you want to put into this equation, but there is obviously a reason why Schefter would be putting out a post about something like this. 

"Following the Deion Sanders-to-Colorado model, Hall-of-Fame linebacker Ray Lewis has emerged as a candidate to become the next head coach at Florida Atlantic University." 

OK, this would be an interesting situation for college football. But is Ray Lewis in the same realm of conversation as a coach like Deion Sanders? No, he's not. Especially without any coaching experience, but that could be solved by hiring a staff around him that's filled with coaches that have years of college football experience. 

After firing Tom Herman earlier in the week, Florida Atlantic is looking for a new head coach to lead the Owls into the future, especially with this new era of revenue-sharing on the horizon. The former two-time Super Bowl champion, and pro football hall-of-fame member, would certainly have the ability to raise money through fundraising by using his celebrity status, in the same way as Deion Sanders at Colorado. 

FAU Floating Ray Lewis Is More Like Eddie George, Than Deion Sanders

But the main problem is, obviously, without ANY experience, this would be a massive gamble for an FAU team looking to get back into the G-5 conversation. The only experience Ray Lewis has coaching was in the 2024 NFL Pro-Bowl. 

As for the comparison to Deion Sanders, at least the Colorado head coach had high school and college experience before taking the Buffaloes job. The only comparison Florida Atlantic could make if trying to entice members of FAU's search committee to get onboard with this scenario is by looking at former Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George. 

Tennessee State hired George in April 2021. In his fourth year as head coach, he currently has a 23-21 overall record, but is currently 8-3 this season. 

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 12: (L-R) Terrell Owens, Frank Gore of the Buffalo Bills, and Ray Lewis attend the game between the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at FAU Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)

I don’t know how far this goes with Ray Lewis, but there are certainly more qualified coaches on the FAU list right now that could mirror the success Lane Kiffin once had coaching the Owls. 

It should be noted that whoever takes over the FAU job will have a nice recruiting class that comes with it, as long as they can keep it intact. 

But if the Florida Atlantic administration is looking to make a splash, then sure, have Ray Lewis come in for an interview and explain to them how he would build a college football program. 

Sounds like the coaching search is off to a crazy start, which is on-par for where we are right now in college football.