He'll be replacing former head coach Mark Stoops, who Kentucky fired after finishing the season with a 5-7 record. It'll be Stein's first head coaching gig of his career.
Prior to becoming Oregon's offensive coordinator in 2022, Stein was hired by UTSA (University of Texas San Antonio) in 2019 as the team's passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach, before ultimately receiving a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach position.
Unlike the coach replacing him, Stoops has a long head coaching history.
He had since been the head coach of the Wildcats since being hired in 2013. Since then, Kentucky has posted seven winning seasons in 13 years, with 2018 and 2021 as the only ones with at least 10 wins.
However, in 2021, the NCAA stripped away the program's 10 wins after investigations found out that 11 players had simply been paid for work they didn't put in, with multiple reports saying the players received "impermissible benefits."
So, technically, the Wildcats only have one double-digit win season during Stoops' tenure.
