Will Stein believes Kentucky football capable of becoming title contenders

Kentucky football has no suffered back-to-back seasons with losing records, going 4-8 in 2024 and then 5-7 in 2025. That led to a coaching change, hiring an offensive coordinator from Oregon. Will Stein, who has had proven success coaching former Heisman candidates in an electric, high-scoring offense that not only will be a breath of fresh air for Kentucky fans, but just helped lead the Ducks to the College Football Playoff.

As we enter year one of the Will Stein era, the expectations are high, and the new head coach knows what this program has been, but he really knows what Kentucky football can become. In the new day and age of college football, programs like Indiana and Vandy have found immense success in recent years after being former bottom-feeders of their respective conferences. Now, Indiana is getting set to play in the National Championship game on Monday night. If Curt Cignetti can turn Indiana from a dump into a respected title contender, why can't Kentucky become that? Will Stein certainly believes that it can be done in Lexington, and it's all about adapting to the recent changes in the sport.

"Coach Cignetti is an elite coach. They have the number one pick at quarterback. You know, they got really good players. They have a great scheme. They've invested in their program, so yeah, it can be done," Stein on Kentucky finding similar success to Indiana. "That's the exciting part about college football now. A team like Indiana is in the national championship game, and it's no fluke. That's a real team." How can Kentucky do something similar? Stein says it's about adapting. "If you're not adapting, you're lost, you're not going to win. And that's the goal from us as a coaching staff, obviously, us as an athletic department as a whole, not just football, everybody, to push the needle forward."

At his introductory press conference Stein said, "I didn't come here to be mediocre, I came here to win." So far, Stein has certainly worked hard to put Kentucky in prime position to work towards becoming a top program like Indiana has. He and his staff have worked extremely hard to bring in players that not only fit his system, but have the right mindset to play in a winning culture, which is ultimately what all coaches are trying to build. Stein has Kentucky football with the #9 transfer portal class, according to 247 Sports.

Now it's about translating that talent into on-field production in hopes to take Kentucky to new heights as a program. It takes time, but Stein is already setting the building blocks for how he wants the culture to be under him.