Oregon Ducks Offensive Coordinator Will Stein: Future Head Coach?

ESPN listed Stein as one of the six coordinators in college football that are on the Power Four jump pad.

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN said that Stein's offense has gotten better season by season.

"He's only 35, but he enters his third season leading Oregon's offense and had historic results with veteran quarterbacks Bo Nix (2023) and Dillon Gabriel (2024). Since the start of the 2023 season, Oregon leads the FBS in scoring at 39.5 points per game and ranks second in yards per play (7.1)," Rittenberg said.

Dating back to his time at UTSA, Rittenberg pointed out Stein's success at his previous stop.

"Stein, a former Louisville quarterback, has had success with QBs at UTSA and now Oregon. If he can produce similar results this fall with Dante Moore, he should be on the radar for solid head coaching gigs," Rittenberg said.

Known as a quarterback whisperer, Stein had in the development of UTSA quarterback Frank Harris, who threw for over 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns in his final season under the tutelage of Stein.

Stein's had the pleasure of working with some of the most talented quarterbacks in program history. His first season in charge of Oregon's offense, Stein was able to coach Nix during his second season in Eugene.

Nix had the best season of his career in 2023 under Stein. The senior quarterback threw for 4,508 yards and 45 touchdowns en route to getting selected 12th overall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos.

During Stein's second season at Oregon, Lanning and the Ducks went out and got Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel to become the new face of the offense for the 2024 season.

Once again, Stein helped another quarterback have a career year and his lone season with Gabriel was no different. He threw for over 3,800 yards and 30 touchdowns, but arguably the most impressive stat of the season was his 72.9 percent completion percentage. Gabriel is expected to be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft and has been projected to land as a mid Day 3 pick by ESPN.

Stein will be tested on his talent evalutation skills this offseason with the Ducks going through a quarterback competition. He will have to decide between three options in Dante Moore, Austin Novosad, and Luke Moga.