Saw this on 247

Stein will reportedly stay on and call plays throughout Oregon's CFP run.

Sorry to see Will move on but congratulations on the HC position at Kentucky.

He has deep personal and family ties to the Wildcats football program. Thee University and fan base will welcome Will with open arms.

Thank you for the amazing run with OBD's, best of success in your future and remember, run the ball!

Good on him. Worked well for Rich Brooks. Wishing him the best wherever he lands.

Glad he is leaving. Good luck in Kentucky.

Hope he doesn't steal recruits as the day approaches.

1 minute ago, TheRunningDuck said:

Hope he doesn't steal recruits as the day approaches.

Maybe one or two, but I highly doubt any of the upper echelon folks would leave Oregon for Kentucky.

2 minutes ago, TheRunningDuck said:

Hope he doesn't steal recruits as the day approaches.

The early signing period will occur while Oregon is still alive in the playoffs and Stein is invested in his current job. In addition, Oregon's 2026 class is essentially nailed down with very few flip targets to poach. Stein will be more worried about retaining the recruits that Stoops was going to bring to Kentucky.

It's like when MariØ bolted to Miami and DL had to start from scratch to retain recruits and find gems (think Bo, Bucky and Gonzo) in the portal. I can't think of one high impact player that followed him to Oregon from Georgia.

I could see Novosad and maybe some 3s and a second stringer or two heading east, but for the most part Stein will have to build it himself from the ground up.

Not sure he should stay, too much of a distraction with a lot of time before offs. Id regroup with one of the other offensive coaches.

2 minutes ago, Duckhart said:

Not sure he should stay, too much of a distraction with a lot of time before offs. Id regroup with one of the other offensive coaches.

I have a lot of confidence that Coach Lanning will make the absolute best decision regarding Stein's continued leadership (or lack thereof) throughout the playoffs. No one is more locked in than DL.

Go Ducks!

We'll miss you, Will, where the grass is damn green. Best of luck on the bluegrass.

Bear Bryant won an SEC title at Kentucky; why not Will?

Lanning was hired by Oregon on December 11. He coached in Georgia's last game on January 11. He probably has as good a feel for what to expect from Stein as anyone could have.

Doesn't bother me at all...

1 hour ago, TheRunningDuck said:

Hope he doesn't steal recruits as the day approaches.

I kinda doubt it... That would burn a bridge with Lanning and I have a feeling he wouldn't want to do that. Coaches talk a lot behind the scenes and burning a bridge by stealing recruits out the door is something that would burn those bridges real fast.

Besides there might some transfers out of Oregon that he would be interested in landing and that would be mutually beneficial for all involved. Not to say that couldnt happen in addition to stealing recruits.

Hes going to miss Oregon's Nil $$$ especially in the SEC.

Opportunity knocks for some of the current unused members of Oregon's roster.

I could see Novosad among those for sure.

23 minutes ago, 1Ducker1 said:

Hes going to miss Oregon's Nil $$$ especially in the SEC.

which is another reason he might not steal recruits

Good luck, but BE GONE!!

I don’t like him pulling double duty; cut ties and move on. I want my OC to be all in during a college football playoff run.

With the long break last year our team came out lethargic against Ohio State. We dont need any distractions.

Lanning showed you can still win a natty with one foot out the door so to speak. Not sayin' Will Stein is Dan Lanning, but I'd rather keep the continuity through the playoffs than go with someone who's never called plays before.

Yeah, he already has a job. But a Natty (as everyone calls it now) never looks bad on the resume.

I was hoping Stein would stay out of the SEC. I think he's going to do more with less at Kentucky. That program allocates about 75 percent of their shared revenue budget on basketball. Stein will develop an offense, and convert three stars into all league performers. I was hoping he'd go to Cal, UCLA, or Oklahoma State.

Is Cal looking at Lupoi?

Next moves for Oregon...

Autzen Zoo

Ripples, repercussions, recruiting and next moves for Ore...

Dan Lanning is a superb judge of coaching talent. He's made one home run hire after another.

7 hours ago, Wood Duck said:

Lanning showed you can still win a natty with one foot out the door so to speak. Not sayin' Will Stein is Dan Lanning, but I'd rather keep the continuity through the playoffs than go with someone who's never called plays before.

Jeff Tedford also stayed on for Oregon’s bowl game after he was hired by Cal and IIRC that was the Fiesta Bowl where Oregon absolutely roasted Colorado.

You can do both, if you are committed, and I would rather have Coach Stein calling plays in the playoffs than someone else.

I thank and wish Stein the best. He has been a great OC for Oregon and I hope he has success at Kentucky.

11 hours ago, David Marsh said:

I kinda doubt it... That would burn a bridge with Lanning and I have a feeling he wouldn't want to do that. Coaches talk a lot behind the scenes and burning a bridge by stealing recruits out the door is something that would burn those bridges real fast.

Besides there might some transfers out of Oregon that he would be interested in landing and that would be mutually beneficial for all involved. Not to say that couldnt happen in addition to stealing recruits.

I’m sure that Lanning had a deal with Smart. IIRC, Lanning was also not allowed to recruit for Georgia after he accepted the Oregon HC position. I’m sure the same will apply to Stein.

How Stein Departing for Kentucky Could Impact Dante Moore

On3

How Stein Departing for Kentucky Could Impact Dante Moore

Will Stein is leaving for Kentucky. Dante Moore's future at Oregon could have major implications on Dan Lanning's next hire.

Goodbye Sir Will Stein. Thanks for the memories of one of the most "balanced", and entertaining offenses in OBD history. Glad that you have secured a position back "home" and wish you all the success you have worked for, and deserve (except in our future meetings on the gridiron 😉). Thanks for sticking around to coach our offense towards its first national title 🤞.

But as OBD has, successfully lived by for decades now...Next Man Up.

(Hmmmm...isn't that now TWO Oregon OC under Lanning to secure Head Coaching positions, elsewhere? Beginning of Sir Lannings "coaching tree".)

GO DUCKS!

14 hours ago, WTD25 said:

I don’t like him pulling double duty

This is probably a joint decision with in-Dan-we-trust having the last say.

He is keeping Stoops 4* QB recruit

4-star QB reaffirms commitment to Kentucky after Will Stein hiring

Plus, Stoops restructured his 37 Mil buyout over several years vs 60 days. Not so sure it was an unselfish act when you consider the tax implications of such a huge income increase all at once.

OT - Big Ten coaching scuttlebutt - the lead candidate for the Penn State job is BYU's Kalani Sitake. Heck of a coach, but no experience east of the Rockies.

BYU HC since 2016. Before BYU, he was an assistant for Whittingham at Utah. Before Utah, he was an assistant at Oregon State.

ON TOPIC - The coach with the best record in the history of Kentucky? Bear Bryant, who went 60-23-5.

In Bear's last season at Kentucky, with Babe Parilli at QB, the Wildcats won the SEC title. In the same season, Kentucky's CBB coach, Adolph Rupp, won yet another SEC title.

In appreciation, Kentucky gave the Bear a new watch and gave Adolph a new Caddy. Coach Bryant said, 'So long.'

In 1960, at Boston University Stadium, I watched Babe Parilli start at QB for the opening game played by the Boston Patriots.

For younger Forum fans, 1960 was not BE, Before Electricity. 😁

I missed Kenny Dillingham more than I'll miss Stein.

Like Justin Herbert, Kenny saved us from falling to the depths of mediocrity at a critical time. Could you imagine if we ran an offense for the guys we wished we had, like our defense did? We would have been lucky to be .500 Dan's first year.

Once that high efficiency offensive blueprint was set, Stein just had to maintain it for two years. Then this year we've seen how long it took him to adapt to the players we have now that have dramatically different strengths and weaknesses than the first two years.

I'm not looking for continuity with our next OC I'm looking for open minded flexibility and past production that wasn't dependent on an outlier gifted QB making them look better than they are.

Coach Lanning should generate standard program terminology, naming and signals for our Offense and Defense, and require the incoming OC and DC to learn them, rather than forcing everyone else on the team to adapt to the new OC/DC's preferred terminology, naming and signals.

The turnover is likely going to be higher for coordinators than even players, so minimize the impacts of those transitions.

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by Solar

17 hours ago, EastBayDuckDad said:

I could see Novosad and maybe some 3s and a second stringer or two heading east, but for the most part Stein will have to build it himself from the ground up.

This could be the best solution for Novosad. I like it. He has given 3 years to the Ducks and is worthy to be starting somewhere. Being able to stay with Will Stein, (who recruited him and has been his QB coach the whole time at Oregon), will be a seamless transition. Hopefully he will be able to start at Kentucky, chew up the SEC, and have a great career in the League.

7 minutes ago, Jon Joseph said:

BYU's Kalani Sitake

That's like a dog returning to his vomit for Penn State.

We interviewed him before we interviewed Dan Lanning, and said not interested, his ceiling wasn't high enough as a recruiter and team culture builder.

He would literally be Franklin 2.0.

Edited 3 hours ago3 hr by Solar

11 minutes ago, Solar said:

I missed Kenny Dillingham more than I'll miss Stein.

Excellent full post, but I have to give an "amen" to this statement.

I also hope for an external hire. Don't want a watered down version of Stein's offense.

Other candidates...a couple of good ones, and I did not know all of that about one Oregon assistant...

Duck Sports Central

Oregon Offensive Coordinator Search

Oregon Ducks football, Dan Lanning, Oregon recruiting, college football, NIL, Big Ten, Pac-12, Scott Reed, Duck Sports Central, recruiting news

17 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

We'll miss you, Will, where the grass is damn green. Best of luck on the bluegrass.

Bear Bryant won an SEC title at Kentucky; why not Will?

He should get shirts made. The Grass is Damn Blue in Lexington

My concern is if both Stein and Lupoi both leave and don't coach in the playoffs.

1 minute ago, GODUCKS15 said:

My concern is if both Stein and Lupoi both leave and don't coach in the playoffs.

Stein will be coaching in the playoffs according to multiple reports and I would be surprised is Tosh didn’t do the same, if he decides to leave.

He has been OK. Let's hope we upgrade to someone who likes vertical passes more.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by DuckFan93

Will's Hiring from a Louisville POV - He's going to Louie's rival but is a beloved alum.

Big Red Louie

Former Louisville QB ignites new era in rivalry after bei...

Louisville football defeated the Kentucky Wildcats this past weekend, 41-0, forcing the Wildcats to end the Mark Stoops era. Stoops was fired after 13 seasons w

2 hours ago, GODUCKS15 said:

and Lupoi both leave

I think Dan can fill the interim DC job if needed!