There is no way around it. Will Stein's energy is infectious. While this may be his first opportunity at being a college football head coach, he aims to hit the ground running in leading the Kentucky Wildcats. Although it remains to be seen if this will translate to any more wins in the coming years, Stein's hands-on approach to turning this program around has been obvious from the start of spring.
Never one for timidity, Stein did not beat around the bush in how involved he is going to be at UK.
“I’m not just gonna sit and observe, I’m gonna go be involved, because that’s what our players deserve and that’s just how I act.”
This is a far cry from the boring, laissez-faire approach Mark Stoops had while leading this program.
In a recent video released by Kentucky’s official football account, we got a glimpse of Will Stein’s on-field personality, and it’s relieving to say the least.
— Kai McClelland (@fourwal1) March 12, 2026
He’s not on the sideline with his sunglasses on trying to act cool, or showing up late while the assistants do the… pic.twitter.com/KVUZJaI8S8
Although he will have to tear this thing down to the studs like ESPN's Greg McElroy said and believes he will do, Stein's successes or failure in Lexington will not be for a lack of effort or enthusiasm. While it could be a challenging first season or two for Stein on the job, he chose to leave a great gig over at Oregon for an opportunity to turn around his home state's flagship school, even if he played at U of L.
Stein may not have the on-field success of Stoops at his peak, but this energy is a welcomed change.
Will Stein is providing the necessary catalyst for change at Kentucky
Look. You can only control what you can control. At the end of the day, Kentucky may not have all the horses Stein needs to turn UK in what Oregon has been on the gridiron for decades. If only the Wildcats had their own version of Phil Knight... Regardless, you can always show up and put forth a genuine effort every day at work. Stein is going to do that, while Stoops may have been fat-catting it.
Yes, it was a controversial decision for Kentucky to move on from Stoops. While these last few years have not been anything to write home about, Stoops did leave Kentucky football in a far better place than he found it back in 2013. He was the longest-tenured head coach for a reason, prior to this past offseason. While much of the fan base wanted to move on, Stoops long had his loyalists around him.
With his former boss Mitch Barnhart on the way out at the end of the season, Stein is occupying a fairly peculiar spot. This may be a dream job for him, but who is going to be his new boss come 2027? Stein will be given a grace period to make something happen at UK, but Barnhart's successor will not have hired him. He will be an inherited commodity. For now, Stein must prove to everyone he belongs.
As long as his players have total buy-in from him, Big Blue Nation could be soon to follow on Stein.