Oregon OC Will Stein is already being mentioned as a candidate for Kentucky's head coaching job

by: Zack Geoghegan4 hours agoZGeogheganKSR

Mark Stoops is out as Kentucky’s head football coach. Now all eyes turn toward finding his replacement.

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, a Louisville native, is being mentioned as a potential candidate to take over as the Wildcats’ next head coach. Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports brought up Stein’s name soon after news broke of Stoops’ firing on Sunday night.

“One of the early popular names coming up among industry sources as a possibility for the Kentucky head coaching opening: Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein,” Zenitz wrote.

One of the early popular names coming up among industry sources as a possibility for the Kentucky head coaching opening: Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.

Kentucky native who has been Dan Lanning’s offensive coordinator at Oregon the last three years. pic.twitter.com/pttbIZY56o
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 1, 2025

Stein, 36, has held Oregon’s offensive coordinator title for the last three seasons under head coach Dan Lanning. He also serves as the program’s quarterbacks coach. During his time in Eugene, the Ducks have collected an overall record of 26-4. Oregon currently ranks 10th in the country in yards per game at 461.5 this season.

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On top of being a respected OC in the college football world, Stein also happens to hail from the Bluegrass and grew up cheering for the ‘Cats. He played his college ball for the Louisville Cardinals (2008-12), appearing in 25 games while throwing for 1,273 yards and six touchdowns to two interceptions. Stein then began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 2013 before making stops at Texas (quality control), Lake Travis HS (assistant head coach), and UTSA (Co-OC) before landing at Oregon.

“I have a great relationship with Coach Stein,” Four-star QB Matt Ponatoski, who is committed to Kentucky from the 2026 class, told On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “I don’t really know who are the candidates but I know Coach Stein has a connection to Kentucky and Louisville and that would be cool.”

Kentucky will have to act quickly with its head coaching search. Expect Stein to be a name we hear more and more of.

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