Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is set to depart Eugene for Lexington, Kentucky. The University of Kentucky hired Stein, the Ducks’ offensive coordinator since 2023, as its next head coach on Monday, according to several reports.
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Stein’s name was almost immediately linked to the job opening following the dismissal of former head coach Mark Stoops earlier that day. Stoops had held the position since 2013, compiling an 82-80 record with the Wildcats. Kentucky finished the regular season 5-7 overall and 2-6 in SEC play.
Stein, 36, was identified as the “leading candidate” on Monday afternoon before On3’s Pete Nakos reported that Kentucky had officially hired him. Several other sources, including The Athletic and CBS Sports, confirmed the hire shortly thereafter. This marks Stein’s first head-coaching job at any level.
His return to the Bluegrass State is both a homecoming and a new chapter in the Governor’s Cup rivalry. Stein played quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals from 2008 until 2012. During his time as a Cardinal, Stein defeated the Wildcats twice (2011-12) and lost three times (2008-10).
At Oregon, Stein coached two Heisman Trophy finalist quarterbacks: Bo Nix in 2023 and Dillon Gabriel in 2024. Currently, Dante Moore, the Ducks’ 2025 signal-caller, holds the eighth-best odds (+50,000) to win this year’s award.
Since head coach Dan Lanning hired Stein, Oregon has posted a stellar 36-4 record and earned the No. 1 overall seed in last year’s College Football Playoff. Oregon is currently ranked No. 6 by the CFP selection committee and expects to return to the playoff field this season. The Ducks’ offense ranked No. 13 nationally this year, averaging 465.2 yards per game. Among Power Five conferences, Oregon’s offense ranks third behind only No. 2 Indiana (483.8 ypg) and No. 17 USC (471.6 ypg).
Before joining Oregon, Stein worked at UTSA as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022, and prior to that, served as pass-game coordinator and receivers coach from 2020 to 2021.
The Outlook for Oregon
It remains unclear whether Stein will coach the Ducks during the upcoming playoff. Meanwhile, Oregon’s defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi is also a candidate for the University of California’s coaching vacancy.
Prior to Oregon’s game against Washington, Lanning expressed support for Lupoi and any other member of the coaching staff pursuing head coaching opportunities.
“My goals for our staff and really myself is for me to be able to help people advance for opportunities for themselves that make a lot of sense,” Lanning said. “Will that happen this year for (Lupoi)? I think it has to make unbelievable sense for him for it to happen. Same for (Stein) and same for several coaches on our staff. We have a bunch of coaches that are going to be phenomenal head coaches when they get that chance. But we also have a really good product here that a lot of these guys have said, ‘no,’ to a lot of great opportunities, because they don’t want to leave what we have here.”
https://bendbulletin.com/2025/12/01/will-stein-oregon-ducks-offensive-coordinator-kentucky-wildcats-head-coach-2025/
