Broyles Award winner Bryant Haines is big fan of Will Stein

Will Stein and Oregon beat everyone on their schedule not named Indiana in 2025. The Hoosiers ran the table, won the national title, and saw their epic year come to an official close when quarterback Fernando Mendoza was selected No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Yet, the Hoosiers were impressed the new head football coach at Kentucky.

Mendoza and Curt Cignetti‘s offense got most of the shine last year, but defensive coordinator Bryant Haines took home the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in college football. Indiana’s defense was elite all season during the run to glory. This unit stymied pretty much every offense it faced on the schedule. However, some offenses presented better challenges than others.

While you were sleeping on Saturday night/Sunday morning, Haines decided to fire off some social media posts. The subject was the top offenses Indiana faced in 2025. Stein showed up twice on this list.

We’re not sure what the Paul Finebaum weird offense is, but Oregon made two appearances in this power ranking. Haines states that there was a notable difference between the Ducks in the regular season and the postseason. One of the best defensive coordinators in college football called Stein “elite” when asked why he separated the two versions of Oregon.

Oregon posted 5.7 yards per play against Indiana in the playoff but that game got away from them quickly after some Dante Moore turnovers. The quarterback also had two picks in the regular season meeting but converted on an explosive play touchdown early in the game. Oregon struggled to run the ball in both matchups but they did give Indiana some problems when they were not turning the ball over.

Will Stein's GAS tempo. pic.twitter.com/nKx6TUP1ip

— Adam Luckett (@AdamLuckettKSR) December 4, 2025

There have been rave reviews about Will Stein from the Big Blue Nation and national media. Many are excited about what the 36-year-old could bring to Kentucky football. Some coaches in the industry have also been very impressed with the new head coach in Lexington.