Stein building deep, varied staff at UK
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As Kentucky football head coach Will Stein continues to shape his first coaching staff in Lexington, the Wildcats’ new leader is taking advantage of recent NCAA rules changes.
Before the 2024 season, the NCAA limited programs to 10 full-time assistants that could coach players in practice or games, while all other support staff typically stayed out of contact with student-athletes. Now, they’re all allowed to coach and recruit.
Stein, in building his staff for 2026, is using every resource available.
“We’re going to create great culture for our guys, hire an elite staff,” the 36-year-old said when he was hired. “I have some of the best coordinators in the country that are going to follow along. … Trust me, everybody wants to work with Will Stein. Everybody wants to work at the University of Kentucky.”
Over the last few weeks, UK has announced the hirings of defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, safeties coach Josh Christian-Young, offensive line coach Cutter Leftwich and wide receivers coach Joe Price, along with the return of defensive line coach Anwar Stewart.
Stein and UK are also expected to add cornerbacks coach Allen Brown, running backs coach Kolby Smith and edge rushers coach Tony Washington, though the school hasn’t put out any official word.
However, that’s not everybody.
Oregon analyst Parker Fleming has reportedly been hired as special teams coordinator and inside receivers coach, former UTSA offensive coordinator Justin Burke has been tabbed as another offensive assistant, former Coastal Carolina and Texas run-game coordinator Derek Warehime will serve the same role for the Cats, former Texas A&M defensive analyst James Gibson is expected to be a defensive backs coach, and former A&M graduate assistant Trey Odom will be an assistant defensive backs coach.
Part of the reason why UK can bring in so many assistants is because of the money saved in how they negotiated former coach Mark Stoops’s dismissal. Instead of paying his full $37 million buyout all at once, UK will owe Stoops $6.75 million annually until 2031. Stoops was previously slated to make $9 million per year as the Cats’ head coach.
Stein’s contract is a five-year, $28.5 million deal starting at $5.5 million in 2026.
Under Stoops, UK’s assistant coaches’ salaries reached nearly $7.5 million, while Stein’s group is younger overall and expected to fetch a smaller purse.
With Stein still set to call plays for Oregon through the Ducks’ College Football Playoff run, he’ll be counting on his slew of assistants to establish relationships and help build the roster for when the transfer portal opens in January.
As the college football landscape continues to change, Stein is staying flexible — and taking advantage of every opportunity.
“To me, the best trait of a college football coach now is adaptability,” he said. “We got to adapt. If you all are still saying, ‘I wish it was like the old days,’ it ain’t the olden days. It’s not. Get that out of your mind. Let’s push forward. Let’s move forward in this process.”
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