When Kentucky hired Will Stein, everyone knew there would be a wait. Oregon was a playoff team. Responsibilities needed finishing. It was never going to be a private jet to Lexington the next morning.
But the wait just got longer.
Oregon shut out No. 4 Texas Tech 23–0 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, keeping Stein on the Ducks’ sideline until at least January 9th, when they’ll face the winner of Indiana vs. Alabama. If Oregon survives that? The national title game. And suddenly, Kentucky’s new head coach isn’t just delayed, he’s missing the entire opening portal window of his era.
BBN is watching this like a flight tracker
This win was a flex by Oregon’s defense: four takeaways, 22 minutes of possession for Texas Tech, and a full-scale chokehold on field position. It wasn’t beautiful, but it was ruthless. The Ducks only had 309 yards, and Ducks fans were not shy about questioning the play calling, especially in the redzone.
Will Stein once he gets to the red zone pic.twitter.com/rExTfMHuFJ
— H𝐎mer (@OregonHomer) January 1, 2026
Still, the scoreboard doesn’t ask how. It asks what. And the answer was 23–0. For Will Stein, that’s both a blessing and a complication. Because while he’s coaching on one of the biggest stages in the sport, the Transfer Portal opens tomorrow.
Why this matters for Kentucky football
The portal window this year is short, January 2nd to the 16th, and there’s no post-spring back door like last year. If you swing and miss? There’s no round two to save you. You got what you got.
Kentucky hired Stein to modernize the offense, rebuild a roster, and spark a culture reset. All of that starts now. Which is why the timing stings: he has to split his attention between CFP game plans and Kentucky’s roster construction. He won’t be as reachable as a coach already in his new office, most everything will be Zoom's or phone calls. And he won't be able to be at the facility for every visitor.
Instead, Kentucky will lean on the infrastructure he built:
- OC Joe Sloan
- DC Jay Bateman
- GM Pat Biondi
- Assistant GM Pete Nochta
And a recruiting staff that has to carry weight, now. This is where the hires prove their worth. It’s not all bad, in fact, it might be leverage. Kentucky fans aren’t used to being in a position where their head coach can walk into a living room and say:
“Our offense was just in the Final Four of college football.”
That plays. That hits different. Or as folks around here say, that dog will hunt.
That’s the kind of line that makes a portal QB pause. That’s the kind of line that makes a high school WR ask if he can visit sooner. That’s the kind of line that compares favorably to every SEC pitch not named Georgia or Alabama. There’s no denying it: BBN has never had this kind of recruiting ammunition before. And that part matters.
Timing vs. momentum
Two things can be true at once:
Yes, it hurts not having Stein in Lexington right now. Yes, the CFP spotlight makes Kentucky more attractive than ever. This portal window will tell us which matters more. If Oregon keeps winning… Kentucky might not actually see Stein in person until January 21st, well after the closure of the portal
Which means this era could begin with Stein never being physically present for the opening window. That’s not a failure, but it’s a high-difficulty opening hand.
It’ll test Biondi’s pedigree, Sloan's relationships, and Bateman's reputation on the defensive trail. And honestly? That's a good thing. We will get to see them in action and see if the staff can reel in the guys needed to make Kentucky football a national player. Because that is what they were hired for.
Will Stein isn’t late. This is just the cost of success. Too many Kentucky hires in the past arrived early because their seasons ended early. This one isn’t built like that. And while it complicates the timeline, it also raises the ceiling. So yes, the wait continues. But for the first time in a long time, Kentucky is waiting because they hired someone winning too much, not someone losing too soon.
And that alone feels like progress.