The Kentucky Wildcats appear to be in the final stages of their coaching search. According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, they are targeting Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein to be their next head coach.

Stein has emerged as one of the top offensive minds in the country during his three seasons with the Ducks, where he has helped develop quarterbacks Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel, and Dante Moore. Nix and Gabriel were both Heisman finalists, and Moore has emerged as one of the better quarterbacks in the country in his first year as a starter with Oregon.

Oregon currently ranks ninth in the country in points per game (38.2), yards per play (7.1), and fifth in yards per carry (5.8). While the passing attack has regressed, they have had numerous injuries at wide receiver, and the passing game should look much better in the playoffs if they can get healthy.

Stein is from Louisville, Kentucky, and played quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals from 2008-12, playing in 25 games for the Cardinals. He then started his coaching career as a graduate assistant with them in 2013. He left in 2015 to become a quality control coach for the Texas Longhorns. His career took off in 2020 when he became UTSA's passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, before being promoted to the co-offensive coordinator in 2022, a job he held for one season before heading to Oregon.

He will now look to help spark a Kentucky program that has gone 9-15 over the past two seasons and scored 23.0 points per game in 2025. He will have the tough task of following Mark Stoops, who is the winningest coach in program history.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Kentucky Wildcats targeting Oregon OC Will Stein as head coach

Reporting by JD McCarthy, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

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