Ryan Lewis joined the Florida A&M University football staff in December 2025 as Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach, coming to Tallahassee from the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he served as cornerbacks coach.
Lewis brings a proven track record of building elite defenses at the FCS level. Most recently at Alabama State University, he served as Defensive Coordinator and linebackers coach for three seasons, during which the Hornets consistently ranked among the nation’s top defensive units. In his third season, ASU led the SWAC in scoring defense at 14.5 points per game — second in the FCS — and ranked second in total defense at 281.9 yards per game. The Hornets also finished among the FCS leaders in passing yards allowed and rush defense.
Under Lewis’s coordination, Alabama State produced back-to-back All-American performers. Linebacker Colton Adams earned FCS Football Central Defensive Player of the Year honors and BOXTOROW First-Team All-American recognition, leading the SWAC and FCS with 11.6 tackles per game.
Defensive back Mikey Victory earned All-SWAC honors and was an Aeneas Williams Award finalist before signing with the New England Patriots.
Prior to Alabama State, Lewis served as Special Teams Coordinator and Linebackers Coach at Bethune-Cookman, and before that as Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator at Edward Waters College.
His earlier tenure at Bethune-Cookman as a graduate assistant contributed to the Wildcats finishing 2014 as the nation’s top-ranked defense, allowing just 237.8 yards per game.
Lewis had a distinguished playing career at Bethune-Cookman, earning MEAC Preseason Player of the Year recognition and a Preseason Second-Team FCS All-American nod in 2011. He helped lead the Wildcats to a 10-1 regular season record, the MEAC championship, and the program’s first FCS Playoff appearance since 2003. He finished his career ranked in the program’s top ten in career interceptions.
A native of Pompano Beach, Florida, Lewis earned both his undergraduate degree in Physical Education and his Master’s degree in Transformative Leadership from Bethune-Cookman University.
