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Marjorie Herrera Lewis
The moment Marjorie Herrera Lewis heard the name Tylene Wilson, it felt like fate was tapping her on the shoulder. A journalist by trade and a sports reporter by heart, Herrera Lewis had spent her career breaking through barriers, becoming one of the first female sportswriters in North Texas to cover the Dallas Cowboys in the mid-'80s. But Wilson’s story — the tale of a woman coaching high school football in 1940s Texas to keep her students from being swallowed by war — was one Herrera Lewis couldn’t ignore. It had all the makings of something bigger, something that couldn’t just be told in an article or a feature piece. This one needed a book.
Her novel, “When the Men Were Gone,” hit shelves in 2018, weaving historical truth with fiction to bring Wilson’s incredible journey to life. And now, that book is making the jump to the big screen. Mandalay Pictures has optioned the story, putting wheels in motion for a film adaptation — one that could bring A-list talent into the fold. For Herrera Lewis, the entire process has been a surreal ride.
“I wish every day that I'd had the chance to meet her,” Herrera Lewis says, regarding her book’s protagonist. “But I loved this journey of discovering her life story. She was an incredible woman.”
The story’s origins are almost as unbelievable as its subject. In 2011, Herrera Lewis found herself at a routine doctor’s appointment when a casual conversation with a nurse changed everything. The nurse, noticing Herrera Lewis's University of Tulsa football shirt, launched into a family story about a great-aunt who had once coached high school football. A woman. Coaching. Football. During World War II. In Brownwood, Texas. The idea of a woman leading a team in one of the state’s most legendary football towns — home to seven state championships under Gordon Wood — was a revelation.
The journalist in Herrera Lewis kicked in. She traveled to Brownwood, chased down leads, and hit a wall when she discovered a fire had destroyed school records in the 1960s. With too many gaps to write a traditional biography, she pivoted. A novel was the way forward. She threw herself into learning the craft, enrolling in an MFA program in New Hampshire, grinding through the intricacies of fiction while balancing the instincts of a lifelong reporter. Two years later, the book was done — and sold to HarperCollins before she even finished filling in the final details.
Then came Hollywood. The journey to adaptation wasn’t a straight shot. The rights were initially picked up before the pandemic, but when that deal fell apart, she found herself starting over. That’s when another production team stepped in. Two key producers who helped bring “Still Alice” to the screen (a film that earned Julianne Moore an Oscar) saw the same cinematic magic in “When the Men Were Gone.” For Herrera Lewis, the pairing felt right. These were people who understood the weight of the story, who weren’t just chasing another sports movie but saw the humanity, the heart, and the urgency of Tylene Wilson’s legacy.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” she says. “But when Mandalay came on board? That was when I knew it was really happening.”
While her roots are firmly planted in storytelling, Herrera Lewis isn’t just watching the film world unfold around her — she’s making moves of her own. In an unexpected twist, she’s now the commissioner of the Global Flag Football League, a burgeoning organization of flag football enthusiasts, with an eye on the Olympics. It’s a passion that traces back to her own days playing flag football in high school and intermurals in college. With 16 teams already formed and a championship tournament set for Las Vegas in August, the league is looking to redefine the game, offering both men and women equal footing on the field.
“It feels like we’re on the brink of something big,” she says, the same enthusiasm in her voice that carried her through sports journalism, novel writing, and now, film. “Flag football is exploding — high schools, colleges, even the Olympics. And being part of that growth? It’s exciting.”
Her career has been an evolution, a constant push into uncharted territory. From covering the Cowboys in a time when female sportswriters were a rarity, to crafting a novel that has the opportunity to be turned into a major motion picture, to leading a football league poised for international impact—it’s all part of the same journey. And now, with a film adaptation on the horizon, she might even find herself on set, maybe even snagging a cameo.
“I picture myself in the theater just boohooing the whole way through,” she says with a laugh.
