Here’s the latest on Will Stein’s first Kentucky staff after weekend moves
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Will Stein assembles Kentucky staff, adding coordinators and several position coaches.
- Reported hires include OC Joe Sloan, DC Jay Bateman and multiple assistants.
- Staff roles span offense and defense: WR, OLine, DE/OLB, DBs, and support staff.
With his offensive and defensive coordinators reportedly in place, Will Stein has begun filling other on-field roles for his first Kentucky football coaching staff.
Stein is set to hire Houston safeties coach Josh Christian-Young as a defensive assistant and Oregon assistant offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich as an offensive assistant, according to reports from CBS Sports. The reports did not specify what the two assistant coaches’ titles would be at UK.
UTSA wide receivers coach Joe Price is also likely to join Stein’s first UK staff in the same role, according to On3. Ohio State defensive line coach Tony Washington is Stein’s pick for defensive ends/outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN.
Christian-Young has spent the past two seasons at Houston and previously worked with new UK defensive coordinator Jay Bateman at Army. He has also worked at Tulane, Georgia Southern and Central Missouri. Christian-Young has coached defensive backs for the majority of his career, other than one season as an outside linebackers coach at Tulane.
Leftwich has worked with Stein at UTSA and Oregon. He served as a graduate assistant while Stein was on staff at UTSA in 2021 and a graduate assistant in Stein’s first year at Oregon in 2023. After one season as the offensive line coach at North Texas in 2024, Leftwich returned to Oregon as assistant offensive line coach and run game coordinator in 2025. He also spent one season as a graduate assistant at UCLA in 2022.
Leftwich has worked with the offensive line in each of his coaching stops. He played center in college at McNeese State.
Price has worked at UTSA since 2020 in a variety of roles, including director of player personnel, wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator. The past three seasons he has also held the associate head coach title. Before coming to UTSA, Price spent one season as director of high school relations at Illinois following 10 years as a high school assistant coach in Texas.
Price and Stein spent three years together at UTSA. His first season as wide receivers coach coincided with Stein’s season as offensive coordinator there.
Washington also crossed paths with Stein at Oregon while he served as outside linebackers coach in 2023. After playing at Oregon from 2011 to 2014, Washington spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Nebraska (2019-20). He served three years on the Oregon staff, first as director of player development and later as assistant defensive line coach and outside linebackers coach.
He spent 2024 at UCLA as an assistant coach working with the defensive line and outside linebackers before being hired by Ohio State as defensive line coach in February.
UK on Monday officially announced the previously reported hire of Joe Sloan as offensive coordinator. The school has yet to confirm any other hires for Stein’s staff, but the following coaches and support staff members have been reported as his first round of hires.
Will Stein’s Kentucky football staff
Joe Sloan (offensive coordinator)
Jay Bateman (defensive coordinator)
Joe Price (wide receivers coach)
Cutter Leftwich (offensive assistant)
John Christian-Young (defensive assistant)
Tony Washington Jr. (defensive ends/outside linebackers coach)
Pat Biondo (general manager)
Pete Nochta (player personnel position)
This story was originally published December 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM.