After a stint in the air force, he returned to his alma mater and coached its football and baseball teams.
[5] Lehew first stint in coaching came with a high school football team in Tulsa, Oklahoma, overseeing their perfect season in 1950.
He concurrently undertook postgraduate studies and earned a master's degree in educational administration in 1951.
[5] Lehew was invited to the Calgary Stampeders training camp in 1959 as a guest coach.
[2] He was subsequently promoted to general manager in November 1964,[2][6] succeeding Jim Finks.
[2] Lehew was responsible for signing players like Wayne Harris, Herm Harrison, John Helton, Jerry Keeling, Earl Lunsford, Don Luzzi, Larry Robinson, and Harvey Wylie (all of whom were elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame),[7] and for turning the Stampeders into a competitive team.
[6] He was influential in starting the team tradition of featuring a horse at the sidelines during games at McMahon Stadium.
[4][6] He proceeded to serve as the vice president and assistant general manager of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from that year until 1978.