Vanderbilt assistant coach Osia Lewis has died due to liver cancer. He was 57.
Vanderbilt said Lewis died on Sunday.
“Osia Lewis was a special man,” Commodores head coach Derek Mason said in a news release. “His wisdom, love, honesty, truth and faith based views truly set him apart. He was a fox-hole teacher who made you better just being around him.”
Lewis arrived at Vanderbilt in 2016 and was diagnosed the following year. He transitioned into a part-time coaching role as a defensive assistant.
Overall, Lewis was a college assistant coach for 28 seasons after playing linebacker for Oregon State from 1982-85.
Lewis began his major college coaching career with the Beavers from 1991-96 before stints at Illinois (1997-2002), New Mexico (2003-07), UTEP (2008-09), San Diego State (2011-15) and Vanderbilt. He handled defensive coordinator duties at both New Mexico and UTEP.
