It happened a year ago when former Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham left Eugene after just one season to take over as the head coach for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
It could potentially happen again this year, with new Oregon OC Will Stein being named among several candidates to take over as the new head coach for the Houston Cougars following the firing of Dana Holgorsen.
After going 4-8 at Houston this season, Holgorsen got fired on Sunday despite having won 20 games over the previous two seasons with the Cougars. This early in the coaching carousel, you can expect a number of names to be floated out as potential candidates, and it’s not too shocking to see Stein be mentioned after the unprecedented success that the Ducks have had on offense under his leadership in 2023.
Here is what The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman (subscription required) had to say about Stein:
Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein is another young up-and-comer. After serving as Traylor’s offensive coordinator at UTSA, he was brought to Eugene and has had a great debut season, with quarterback Bo Nix in the thick of the Heisman Trophy race. The 34-year-old former Louisville quarterback coached a few seasons of high school football in Texas after spending three seasons on the Texas staff. We think he’s a guy who will start getting consideration for some FBS head coaching jobs sooner than later.
While it is widely believed that Stein will eventually leave Oregon for a head coaching job elsewhere, I don’t expect it to happen this season. Dillingham’s departure a year ago was considered rare, with the young offensive guru never having spent time as a head coach, and being the primary play-caller for very little time at a Power 5 level. The same can be said for Stein, who has spent time as the OC at UTSA a year ago, and was coaching in the Texas high school ranks at Lake Travis as recently as 2019.
While some teams may reach out to Stein, I would be surprised if he was not in Eugene for at least one more season as the OC.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]