As everyone knows, Kentucky has a new 36-year-old head football coach by the name of Will Stein, who came to Lexington in early December after three highly-successful years as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon.
Stein is a Kentucky native who grew up in Louisville, and played football at Trinity High School and the University of Louisville. His father, Matt Stein, played at defensive end at UK for Coach Jerry Claiborne during the 1983 and 1984 seasons when the Cats made two straight Hall of Fame Bowl appearances.
After spending over seven months in his new job without coaching a single game, Stein is still enthusiastic.
“I’m thrilled to represent Big Blue Nation as head football coach,” said Stein during last week’s SEC Media Days. “As a Kentucky native, a kid growing up going to Commonwealth Stadium to watch the Cats, this is truly a dream come true to me. I am BBN. For 18 years of my life growing up, I was a member of Big Blue Nation. My dad played at Kentucky, and my mom is a graduate. To come back to the Bluegrass State, being a fan of Kentucky football, athletics, is truly surreal.”
Many observers have said the hiring of Stein by UK is a very good move but it won’t be easy for the new boss and the Wildcats to come up with a winning campaign in 2026. The Wildcats have a very difficult schedule with nine SEC matchups this fall.
Since the year before World War II began, Kentucky has had 14 head coaches before the new Stein era, and most of them didn’t find success in their first year at UK.
In 1938, A.D. Kirwan, who later became the UK president in 1968, coached the Cats to a 2-7 record in his first year.
In 1945, Bernie Shively, the future athletics director at UK, guided the Wildcats to a 2-8 mark in his only season.
Then legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant began his eight-year coaching career at Kentucky in 1946 with his first Wildcat squad finishing with a 7-3 record. While at UK, the future Alabama and Hall of Fame coach posted an eight-year mark of 60-23-5, including four bowl trips, and there weren’t many bowls back then.
After Bryant left UK for Texas A&M, Blanton Collier, who would later guide the Cleveland Browns to the 1964 NFL championship during the pre-Super Bowl era, took over and led the 1954 Cats to a 7-3 mark in his first year.
Since then, the UK’s other first-year coaches – Charlie Bradshaw, John Ray, Fran Curci, Jerry Claiborne, Bill Curry, Hal Mumme, Guy Morriss, Rich Brooks, Joker Phillips and Mark Stoops – have failed to come up with a winning record during their initial seasons.
So that means the last time a first-year head coach had a winning season at Kentucky was over 70 years ago and Stein’s 2026 team unfortunately faces similar low expectations. According to a preseason poll from last week’s SEC Football Media Days, the media in attendance picked the Cats to finish near the bottom of the conference. UK was picked to finish at No. 14 in the 16-team SEC, just ahead of No. 15 Mississippi State and No. 16 Arkansas.
However, despite UK’s grueling schedule, Stein could change the outlook this time since he has help via the transfer portal and NIL – something previous coaches didn’t have.
Stein knows the schedule is tough but he wants to coach against the nation’s top teams and players.
“I’m very excited to compete in the Southeastern Conference,” he said. “This is where the best players and coaches come to play football. All 16 have a Top 20 hardest schedule per ESPN, all 16. They say that I’m the fourth hardest, okay? If you want to compete against the best, you come to the SEC. You just do. It’s the closest thing to the NFL. It’s proven. Almost every game comes down to the last possession. Home-field advantage is real in this league. I love it.”
Despite a long history of UK’s football struggles, the new coach is confident that he can build a thriving program at Kentucky. He said recruiting is very important. He added that good results happen when you have great players, a great culture and strong coaching staff.
“I think I know what it takes (to be successful),” he said. “I have seen it at the highest levels. I know what it takes to recruit at this level. I know we can recruit north, south and east. People come to Lexington, and love it. The longer I live there, the more I’m like, “Wow, this place is incredible.’ It’s got everything that you want. It’s great food, nightlife, community, and university. It’s safe.
“I’m really excited about our administration, the direction that it’s going….I’m also excited about what the future holds. That’s why I believe. Or else I wouldn’t have taken the job. I would have stayed at Oregon, coached (quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate) Dante Moore, stayed out there.”
Stein will make his UK coaching debut on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Kroger Field when the Wildcats face Youngstown State. The game will be televised at 1 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
Jamie H. Vaught, a longtime sports columnist in Kentucky, is the author of seven books about UK basketball, including newly published “Unforgettable Journey with the Cats: Inside Kentucky Hoops Madness.” Now a retired college professor who taught at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Middlesboro, he is the editor and founder of KySportsStyle.com Magazine. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @KySportsStyle or reach him via email at KySportsStyle44@gmail.com.