Kentucky tabs Oregon OC Will Stein as next football coach, replacing Mark Stoops
Kentucky football has found its new football coach a day after firing Mark Stoops.
Just after 11 p.m. Monday, UK officially named Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein as its next coach.
“Will Stein brings an outstanding track record of developing elite quarterbacks and leading some of the most dynamic and successful offenses in college football,” UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart said in the news release announcing the hire. “His deep connection to Kentucky, having grown up attending games in our stadium, gives him a unique passion for this program and this community. We are thrilled to have him leading the Wildcats onto the field next fall, and I know Big Blue Nation will join me in giving a warm welcome to Will, his wife Darby and their children, Joey and Demi.”
Stein is a Louisville native and son of a former UK football player who grew up a Wildcat fan. He helped lead Trinity High School to three state championships before walking on to play quarterback at Louisville. Stein opened his junior year in 2011 as the Cardinals’ starter but was injured in week three in a start at Kentucky. He was replaced in that game by future NFL first-round draft pick Teddy Bridgewater, who remained Louisville’s starter for the rest of Stein’s career.
More recently, Stein has led one of the top offenses in college football at both Oregon and UTSA.
Oregon this season ranks ninth nationally in points per game (38.2) and 13th in yards per game (465.2) and has ranked in the top 25 nationally in both categories in each of Stein’s three seasons as coordinator. The Ducks ranked second nationally in both stats in his first year on the job in 2023.
“I’m honored and excited to become the next head coach at Kentucky,” Stein said in the release. “Growing up in Kentucky and sitting in the stands at UK games as a kid, I could only dream of one day leading the Wildcats. This is truly a dream come true. My goal is to lead with purpose and help young men grow on and off the field. I’m deeply thankful to President (Eli) Capilouto, Mitch Barnhart, and Big Blue Nation for the trust they’ve placed in me. I also want to thank Coach Dan Lanning and the entire Oregon staff for their support and mentorship, they’ve been incredible. Now, I can’t wait to get started and make Kentucky proud.”
Stein started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Louisville, before following coach Charlie Strong to Texas as a quality control coach from 2015 to 2017. He then spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator for Lake Travis High School in Texas before three years at UTSA.
While Stein is best known in the Bluegrass State for his time at Louisville, he told the Herald-Leader in 2011 he grew up rooting for Kentucky.
“I spent a lot of games there (at Commonwealth Stadium),” he said. “I still know I was in section 128, row 13.”
With No. 5 Oregon a lock for the playoff, Stein may need to balance his time between building a Kentucky staff and roster with preparing the Ducks to complete for a national championship, but Kentucky could also benefit from the public relations boost of having its next head coach visible during playoff games. ESPN reported Stein planned to remain with the Ducks through their playoff run.
Hiring a well-respected offensive mind would seemingly give Kentucky a better chance to keep redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley and other promising young playmakers in the fold, but Stein will have to make his pitch to those players before any decisions are finalized. UK players will be able to enter the transfer portal beginning five days after the hire is finalized.
Stein recruited four-star UK football class of 2026 quarterback commitment Matt Ponatoski to Oregon. If neither Boley nor Ponatoski, who is a top prospect in the 2025 MLB draft, are on the 2026 Kentucky roster, Stein has a proven track record in developing transfer quarterbacks. Oregon’s starter this season, Dante Moore, transferred there from UCLA. Last season’s starter, Dillon Gabriel, threw for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions after previous stops at Central Florida and Oklahoma.
Stein, 36, will be one of the youngest head coaches in the country next season. Only four current FBS head coaches are younger, according to BetMGM. Only one of those coaches (Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham) coaches in a power conference.
“Will Stein brings two invaluable qualities to the table as the next head coach of the UK football program,” Capilouto said in the release. “He is an outstanding developer and coach of young talent, something he has proven repeatedly in his career already as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at an elite level. And he has a deep and abiding passion for this place. It runs deep with him and his family.
“He understands the Big Blue Nation, this university and what this team and program mean to our Commonwealth. We are looking forward to welcoming Will and his family back home and we can’t wait to support them as they further elevate our program in a way that makes Kentucky proud.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM.