For years, Kentucky fans have been subjected to a revolving door of offensive coordinators, but the same style of offense. The lone exception was Liam Coen's first year in Lexington, but even then, it was more Mark Stoops than what Liam is doing in the NFL right now. You saw a lot more slow-paced, huddle-always, conservative style that dominated the Mark Stoops years. Now, Kentucky football gets a fresh coach and a fresh perspective.
The debate over labels has often overshadowed the product in the field, though. Fans want it to be an "air raid" or "spread" or "RPO". But Will Stein isn't interested in labelling what he tries to do on Saturday's. He isn't trying to fit Kentucky into a box from 2010 or 2025.
He is trying to look like Sunday.
WIll Stein is bringing a NFL offense to Lexington
In a recent interview, Stein described his offensive philosophy as simply "modern," and he pointed to some of the most electric teams in the NFL as examples. He listed the Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and Chicago Bears as his blueprint.
"Modern. It's not huddle every play and get in the I-formation. It's not spread people out and go as fast as humanly possible. It's a blend of really kind of everything, and it's adaptable. We can play multiple personnels. We can play with multiple tempos. We like RPOs. We love tempo. We also like two-back sets and getting downhill on people and adding extra people to the runs with fullbacks and tight ends."
The "modern pro-style"
This hybrid approach, blending the speed of the spread with the physicality of power running, is what Stein calls "modern pro-style." It is the exact antidote to an offense that has felt one-dimensional for too long.
Stein admits he spends his time studying the pros, not just other college schemes.
"When I watch the Bears and the Lions and the Chiefs, like to me that's like modern football, modern pro-style. And those are guys that I watch a ton of and try to emulate as much as possible with the personnel that we have available."
Hearing a coordinator name-drop Patrick Mahomes' or Jared Goff's offenses is easy. Actually implementing it is hard. There is a reason Ben Johnson is a very well-paid head coach, and Andy Reid is looked at as one of the best all-time.
But for a fanbase that has watched their team struggle to find a consistent rhythm, hearing that the goal is adaptability rather than rigidity is a breath of fresh air. Stein isn't married to a system; he is married to moving the ball. And if that means looking like the Detroit Lions one week and a spread tempo RPO team the next, BBN will take it in a heartbeat.
If you want to see what kind of offense Stein is going to run, tune in on Sundays.