After so much speculation, the Mark Stoops era has finally come to an end. With yet another disappointing regular season getting wrapped up, the news arrived on Sunday night via Pete Thamel that the Wildcats will be firing Stoops, with things getting finalized on Monday.
Power ranking Kentucky football coaching candidates with Mark Stoops getting fired
With the Wildcats making this decision so late, Kentucky is now going to have to race to find a replacement. Luckily for nervous Kentucky fans, some exciting names are popping up for the upcoming search. Per CBS insider Matt Zenitz, a candidate that already is standing out a bit is Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein. Could Kentucky move quickly here if Stein indeed is the guy?
One of the early popular names coming up among industry sources as a possibility for the Kentucky head coaching opening: Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 1, 2025
Kentucky native who has been Dan Lanning’s offensive coordinator at Oregon the last three years. pic.twitter.com/pttbIZY56o
Will Stein has emerged as a top Kentucky candidate after Mark Stoops was fired
Stein is quite familiar with Kentucky, as he was a quarterback for Louisville back during his playing days. Despite him being on the wrong side of the rivalry there, he has seen a quick rise in his coaching career and he's certainly making a name for himself in Eugene.
Stein joined the Oregon coaching staff in December 2022, officially taking over as OC for Dan Lanning. In the past three seasons, Oregon's offense has been downright electric and people have loved what Stein has been able to get done running that side of the ball for Lanning.
Could he be getting ready to take his first gig as a head coach? This is something people probably weren't thinking about on Sunday morning, but that all has changed following the breaking news that Stoops is going to be out of a job.
Stein and Oregon are focused on the College Football Playoff, but you've got to figure that an interview with the Wildcats could be on the way soon if Zenitz's sources are on the money here. As for Stoops, it felt like the writing was on the wall for him, as the brutal campaigns of late have infuriated the fanbase. While this wasn't the outcome Stoops wanted, he'll be owed around $37 million for his buyout. He'll also be leaving Lexington as UK's all-time winningest coach.