The Atlanta Falcons dismissed assistant defensive line coach LaTroy Lewis on Feb. 27 after allegations of sexual assault connected to his time at the University of Michigan surfaced earlier that week.
“The Atlanta Falcons have dismissed assistant defensive line coach LaTroy Lewis from his role,” the team said in a statement. Earlier in the day, the franchise said it was “aware of allegations regarding LaTroy Lewis” and that it was in the process of gathering information.
Lewis had been hired by the Falcons earlier in February and had been with the organization for a little more than two weeks before his dismissal.
According to reports, the allegations stem from an incident that allegedly occurred on Dec. 5, 2024, while Lewis was a member of the Michigan football coaching staff. The Ann Arbor Police Department confirmed that it has opened an investigation into the allegations and that the case remains active.
“The Ann Arbor Police Department was just recently made aware of allegations regarding a sexual assault reported to have occurred on December 5, 2024,” Chris Page, a spokesperson for the Ann Arbor Polie Department, said in a statement. “The AAPD Detective Bureau launched an immediate investigation into the incident. This investigation remains active and ongoing.”
Police officials also stated that department policy prevents them from publicly naming individuals involved in cases unless formal charges have been filed.
An attorney representing the woman involved said she filed an incident report with police and sought a protective order against Lewis earlier in the week. According to the attorney, the woman and Lewis began communicating through a dating application in July 2024 before meeting in person in Ann Arbor later that year.
Lewis’ attorney said he plans to contest the allegations.
The Falcons hired Lewis on Feb. 10 after he spent the 2025 season as the defensive line coach at the University of Toledo. Before that, he spent multiple seasons with the Michigan football program. Lewis joined Michigan in 2022 as a graduate assistant and later served as an assistant defensive line coach.
During his time at Michigan, Lewis worked under head coaches Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore. The Wolverines won the College Football Playoff national championship during the 2023 season while Lewis was on staff.
Lewis began his coaching career in 2020 as a graduate assistant at the University of Akron. He later worked at South Alabama and Wake Forest before joining the Michigan program.
Before transitioning to coaching, Lewis played college football at the University of Tennessee from 2013 to 2016. After going undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft, he had brief stints with several professional teams, including the Houston Texans.
The Falcons have not announced a replacement for Lewis, and the organization has not released additional information about the decision to dismiss him.
Authorities in Ann Arbor say the investigation into the allegations remains ongoing. No criminal charges had been announced as of Friday.