Kentucky Hires Will Stein to Replace Mark Stoops, What You Need to Know About New HC

It reportedly didn't take long for Kentucky to line up its next head football coach.

After athletic director Mitch Barnhart released a statement Monday revealing it fired Mark Stoops, the school officially hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, via Pete Thamel of ESPN.

"I'm honored and excited to become the next head coach at Kentucky," Stein said in a statement.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports first reported the Wildcats were "working toward a deal" to make Stein the program's next head coach.

"The sides are expected to finalize the agreement soon," Dellenger reported.

According to Thamel, Stein will remain as Oregon's offensive coordinator through the College Football Playoff and "juggle both jobs."

Stoops had been the head coach at Kentucky for 13 seasons and finished with a record of 82-80. He remains the program's all-time winningest coach and took home the 2018 SEC Coach of the Year when he led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record and Citrus Bowl win.

That was the first of four straight seasons that ended in bowl victories, including the 10-3 effort in 2021.

However, Kentucky went 4-8 in 2024 and 5-7 in 2025 and has clearly fallen behind many of its SEC rivals. Saturday's 41-0 loss to in-state rival Louisville seemed to be the final straw, and it decided to make a change.

It will be a costly change, though, since ESPN's Pete Thamel reported the school will owe Stoops more than $37 million to be paid out within 60 days.

Enter Stein, who is familiar with the state having grown up in Kentucky with parents who attended the school before he played quarterback for Louisville. Eli Lederman, Max Olson and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN called him "one of the nation's most respected playcallers and offensive architects" while naming him a primary candidate for the job.

Oregon hired Stein as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in December 2022 after he was previously the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UTSA.

The Ducks have enjoyed nothing but success in his three seasons with the program and went 12-2 with a Fiesta Bowl win 2023, 13-1 with a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, and 11-1 with a likely CFP appearance in 2025.

Oregon Tops Washington 🦆

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Stein worked directly with quarterbacks Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore in explosive offenses that spearheaded much of Oregon's success.

Now he will be faced with the daunting task of leading an SEC program at 36 years old. 

Kentucky failed to reach the 20-point mark in six of its 12 games this season and needs to take significant strides on offense if it is going to be competitive in the conference moving forward. Given that backdrop, it comes as no surprise it went with an offensive hire, and it will be up to Stein to build a sustainable approach that can replicate some of Oregon's success.