Will Stein reflects on mentoring Teddy Bridgewater at Louisville, becoming coach

Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein has been one of the fastest risers in the sport, reaching an FBS perch at a College Football Playoff contender in a little more than a decade in coaching.

Stein has gone through an interesting journey to get to where he is now, one that includes getting passed up by Teddy Bridgewater on the Louisville depth chart.

But there were lessons in that, he shared with On3’s Andy Staples. All of it led to his entry into coaching.

Stein sort of played a coaching role even while he remained a player, helping Bridgewater get up to speed quickly in a career that would take off in no time at all.

“I think it kind of goes back to what I just talked about, a veteran quarterback that knows how to handle his business off the field, knows how to prepare the correct way, knows how to watch tape,” Stein said on the Andy Staples On3 show. “Teddy came into Louisville extremely raw, but you could tell from the minute he stepped foot on campus how talented he was and what type of person he was, which anybody that knows Teddy, he’s as good of a dude as you’re going to meet.

“Obviously I started in front of him, which it’s borderline comedy thinking about my playing career compared to Teddy Bridgewater. But things happen. I got hurt against Kentucky and he came off the bench. Next thing you know coach (Charlie) Strong was winning a lot more games than he was with me at quarterback and ended up getting the Texas job and allowed me to meet people like Jeff Traylor, like Tom Herman, and work with other guys at the University of Texas, and I think it kind of spring-boarded my career as a coach. Ended up backing up Teddy and it made me a better coach today.”

Bridgewater played at Louisville from 2011-13, overlapping with Will Stein’s playing days and his pivot into coaching. Stein was a graduate assistant in 2013, Bridgewater’s final year.

The transition certainly has seemed smooth to this point for the up-and-coming coach, but he wasn’t initially 100% sold on being a coach.

He just knew he wanted to be around the game.

“I’ve been on a team since I was 4 years old, dating back to T-ball at St. Matthews Little League in Louisville, Ky,” Stein said. “So that’s all I’ve ever known is teamwork. It’s football, baseball. And the greatest people in my life besides my parents and my grandparents and now my wife were my coaches.

“I’m still extremely close with my high school offensive coordinator. Still talk to Jeff Brohm, who was my quarterback coach at Louisville. Matt Wells, who was my quarterback coach at Louisville. Still talk to coach (Steve) Kragthorpe, coach Strong, guys that coached me that impacted me as a player, they are my heroes.”

Eventually Will Stein jumped in with both feet. He followed Strong from Louisville to Texas, where he spent three years as a quality control analyst.

From there he became the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Lake Travis High School, before leaping back to the college ranks at UTSA. Dan Lanning plucked him away in 2023.

It’s been quite a journey in the last decade.

“When I had the opportunity after I was playing when Shawn Watson offered me a GA job at Louisville I jumped right on it,” Will Stein said. “I already knew the system. Teddy was coming back for Year 3. We had a really good team coming back. I never really knew, I didn’t dream of being a coach, I dreamt of being a player, just like most of us do. But once the time came I couldn’t get away from the game. It was adamant to me that I needed to get back into coaching.”