Oregon Ducks' Will Stein Emerging as Popular Head Coaching Candidate

It’s been a historic and unprecedented season in college football when it comes to midseason coaching changes.

The LSU Tigers became the latest program to part ways with their head coach in 2025, with teams such as Penn State also firing their longtime coaches. Plenty of changes will occur in the offseason as new leadership begins to take shape.

The Oregon Ducks’ offensive coordinator, Will Stein, has been a popular name that’s been floating around in head coaching conversations. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg listed Stein as one of the top coordinators who could take the next step in his coaching career.

Stein A Top Coaching Candidate

oregon ducks will stein dan lanning coaching carousel dante moore bo nix dillon gabriel heisman trophy louisville cardinals — New Oregon offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Will Stein leads a drill on the first practice of spring for Oregon football as the Ducks prepare for the 2023 season. Eug 031623 Uo Spring Fb 15 | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Going from a successful coordinator at a top-ranked Division I program to a head coach for a team on the rise isn't uncommon. Take Oregon coach Dan Lanning as an example.

Lanning is quickly becoming one of the top coaches in college football after previously being the defensive coordinator at Georgia. Oregon is his first gig as the head of a coaching staff, and he’s not the only first-time head coach with a top-ranked team.

Stein’s predecessor, Kenny Dillingham, exited the program after Lanning’s first season to take the head coaching role at Arizona State. It’s growing possibility that Stein could take a similar path to Lanning and Dillingham with the recent openings.

The Ducks’ offensive coordinator has coached three different starting quarterbacks in his three seasons at Oregon. Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel both ended their seasons as Heisman Trophy finalists and were drafted into the NFL under Stein’s guidance. Now he's helping Dante Moore rank top-10 in quarterback passing touchdowns as he leads a young Ducks' offensive core.

Of the potential coaching openings, a role with the Louisville Cardinals could be especially tempting for the offensive coordinator. Stein played quarterback for the Cardinals from 2008 to 2012 and spent a pair of seasons on the Louisville staff. While Jeff Brohm is still with the Cardinals, there’s a possibility that he could leave for another opening and allow Stein the chance to return to his alma mater.

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Lanning Speaks Out On Coaching Changes

Several opposing coaches the Ducks already faced in 2025 are no longer with their programs. Oklahoma State parted ways with Mike Gundy, Penn State fired James Franklin and Oregon State let go of Trent Bray.

The college football landscape continues to change. Considering that Gundy coached the Cowboys for over two decades and Franklin has experienced consistent winning seasons in Happy Valley, it seems that no coach’s position is truly secure.

“A little hard to wrap your head around. I'm not sure exactly what the hurry’s for, but it's part of what we all are aware of and what we signed up for in this profession. It's a tough profession, but it's a really rewarding profession,” Lanning said.

“There's a lot of people who would love to do what we get to do, and it's nice to be in a place that has really consistent stability, and players that are really focused,” he continued. “But I think that's just an example of distractions that exist right now in college football that our players and our coaches handle really well.”

Lanning’s name has popped up in coaching conversations every year since he took the position at Oregon. Most recently, rumors started that he could be heading to LSU, but Lanning immediately shut that down on the “Rich Eisen Show.”

“I'm not leaving Oregon. Yeah, as long as I win," Lanning said. "That's what I always tell my kids. If your dad wins, we'll be at Oregon. So I gotta win."