Arguably the two most important hires Sean Lewis makes as he embarks on his first head-coaching job are in place.
Kent State announced Friday that Andrew Sowder and Tom Kaufman have been added to his first coaching staff, the former on the offensive side and the latter on the defensive side. Kaufman will also carry the title of associate head coach for the Golden Flashes.
“Tom is a Northeast Ohio guy,” the first-year head coach said in a statement. “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. ...
“I have a great relationship with Andrew. 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.”
Sowder spent the 2017 season as the offensive coordinator and right ends coach at San Jose State. Kaufman was the defensive coordinator at FCS Chattanooga in this past season.
Lewis and Kaufman worked together on the same staff at Syracuse in 2016, the former as offensive coordinator and the latter as special teams coordinator/linebackers coach.