Sources: Kentucky hiring Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein to replace Mark Stoops

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Kentucky is closing in on a replacement for Mark Stoops.

The Wildcats are working to finalize a deal to make Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein their next head coach, sources told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. Specifics of the deal are not yet known, but it is expected to be finalized in the near future.

Stein, a former Louisville quarterback, joined Oregon as the Ducks’ offensive coordinator ahead of the 2023 campaign. This will mark his first head coaching job in college football. He held previous assistant stints at UTSA, Texas and Louisville. 

Though the Ducks missed out on the Big Ten championship game, they still mounted an 11-1 record and are undoubtedly in a position to earn a berth to the College Football Playoff for a second straight season. They were knocked out last season in the quarterfinals by Ohio State after securing the No. 1 overall seed. 

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Stein is expected to keep calling plays for the Ducks throughout the postseason. He'll juggle both jobs until Oregon's season ends.

Kentucky fired Stoops officially on Monday after 13 seasons with the program. He was one of the longest-tenured coaches in the sport, though Stoops was coming off his second straight losing season. The team ended the year on back-to-back blowout losses, including Saturday’s 41-0 loss to Louisville. Stoops is due nearly $40 million, which would be one of the five biggest in college football history if it’s paid out in full.

The Wildcats are now the sixth school in the SEC to make a move for a new coach this fall, following Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Auburn and Ole Miss. Though Kentucky has struggled in the 16-team SEC, Stein has managed a high-powered offense in recent years up at Oregon. 

The 36-year-old Kentucky native could breathe new life into the Wildcats program fairly quickly. Whether that leads to a replication of the success he's found at Oregon and getting Kentucky back to a place where it's not only consistently making it to a bowl game but also holding its own in the best conference in the sport, however, remains to be seen.

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