Will Stein is a busy guy right now. Kentucky’s new head coach is juggling building a team in Lexington and fulfilling his duties as Oregon’s offensive coordinator in the College Football Playoff, a balance few people know.
Dan Lanning, the Ducks’ head coach, is one of them, accepting the job at Oregon in December 2021 while helping guide Georgia to the national championship as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator. Stein’s kinship with Lanning is just one reason that, despite having a very loaded plate in Lexington, he’s all in on the Ducks’ title run. When asked about Kentucky at Peach Bowl Media Day, Stein politely deferred, saying he’s focused solely on Oregon right now — but still found a way to express confidence about what he’s building in Lexington.
“I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in,” Stein said. “It’s really surreal that I’m in this position. I’ve really just tried to focus all my energy on what I’m doing at the present moment, and not trying to think too much about things I can’t control. What I know that I can control is trying to be the best offensive coordinator for the Oregon Ducks right now, give our guys a great plan, and give it my all to this university that’s given me so much and my family so much.”
Not surprisingly, Stein was asked about balancing the two jobs more than once. When it came up again later, a layer was peeled back. Not being able to be in Lexington 24/7 to build his new team makes life more difficult, but it’s worth it when you can point to the reason why.
“I mean, I’ve got a lot of guys back there who really just try to stay present. Those guys are doing a hell of a job back there for me, but they also know that the most important thing for that program is for us to be successful here at Oregon because it’s a testament to what the blueprint is and how to go be successful. So, yeah, I mean, I’ve got a lot of help there. I’ve got a lot of help here. I’ve got great family support, too. And, you know, it’s just really exciting to be in this position.”
Stein said this week in Atlanta is a “business trip.” He left his kids back in Oregon so he could tune out distractions and try to get some sleep — although the bags underneath the 36-year-old’s eyes suggest that’s a work in progress.
“Well, I was told I look refreshed today, which is like I have not felt that way, that’s for sure,” Stein quipped. “But, again, I mean, like the NFL playoffs are starting. This is a long freaking season, long season. So it’s human nature. Everybody’s tired. Everybody’s cranky at times. It’s colder around. You know, it gets dark sooner. Like it’s human nature. Everybody’s feeling that type of way. It’s the people that can handle the chaos the best are the people that succeed the most in our sport right now.”
How confident is Stein? Check out the group he put himself in as that answer went on.
“And is it easy? No, it’s not easy for anybody. Me, Dan [Lanning], Curt Cignetti, Kirby Smart, Nick Saban. I know he’s not even in coaching, but it’s probably not easy for him. It’s not easy. But that’s what we signed up for. That’s why they pay us a lot of money to coach a kid’s sport, you know. I mean, it’s their greatest gig in the world. And somebody told me there’s no crying from the yacht, you know. And so I’m very blessed, fortunate, and just looking forward to this game.”
WHAS11’s Sarandon Raboin gave it one more shot, closing the media scrum by asking Stein if he had any thoughts on Kentucky’s current portal class. The Cats have added 13 players from the transfer portal, including former Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey. It’s a heck of a haul so far, but Stein is going to hold off on bragging about it for now — even if he couldn’t help himself with his final line.
“I’d love to sit here and talk to you about all that stuff. I really am not going to just because I owe it to Oregon currently to be completely present here. I am in the position I’m in because of President Scholz, Dan Lanning, [athletic director] Rob Mullens, [defensive coordinator] Tosh Lupoi, my whole staff, Dante Moore, Bo Nix, and Dillon Gabriel.
“There’s a lot of people that got me to this opportunity, and if I were to be talking about that right now, I would just – I don’t want to do that. But I think it’s pretty evident what’s going on over there, and we can talk about that later.”