Will Stein breaks down his offensive philosophy

New Oregon Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein recently broke down his offensive philosophy.

Stein is coming in to replace Kenny Dillingham, whose offense was phenomenal in 2022 and helped him earn the head coaching job at Arizona State.

“Well, I am a product of great coaching, from my time at Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky, under Bob Beatty,” Will Stein explained.

“Then, I played for Jeff Brohm, I played for Matt Wells, I played for Mike Rowe, Sean Watson, Bobby Petrino, Charlie Strong, Tom Herman, Hank Carter at Lake Travis High School, Jeff Traylor, and now here with Dan [Lanning]. So, my background is I’ve been blessed. I’ve been around some unbelievable human beings that know how to coach the game at the highest level.”

Will Stein is another young, up-and-coming offensive coordinator for the Ducks. He played quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals, with his redshirt senior season coming in 2012. At that point, he was backing up Teddy Bridgewater.

He immediately transitioned into coaching, working as a GA and quality control coach. In 2018, he landed at Lake Travis High School as the team’s offensive coordinator before moving up to UTSA.

“And, offensively, our job is to get our best players the ball as many times as possible. It’s not — plays are highly overrated. It’s about the players and here at Oregon we have unbelievable players. Really excited to work with them,” Stein said.”We really base out of a pro-style offense but with spread principles. RPOs, run action pass, play action pass. I like to think that we’re multiple in our personnel groupings and our formations, and we want to be an attacking offense that throws the ball down the field.”

Much like Kenny Dillingham, Will Stein is a very young offensive coordinator. After it worked out so well, with Dillingham reviving Bo Nix and the Oregon offense, head coach Dan Lanning is now relying on Stein to continue that growth. However, he doesn’t want to be compared to Dillingham.

“I’m me, I’m Will Stein. I’ve been the same dude for a long time. Treat people the right way. Coach this game hard, aggressive, passionate, and just, I love being around these guys.”

Will Stein shared his first impression of Bo Nix

Will Stein is lucky enough to land an experience starting quarterback in Bo Nix, who has already made a huge first impression on him.

“I always thought he was such a great player from afar. Obviously, his time at Auburn might not have been what everybody else expected it to be. But I know he appreciates everything that happened there because of where he is now. It brought him to Oregon,” Stein said.

“And then getting on the phone with him initially? I was a little mind blown with his intensity and what he was looking for from a coach and an offensive standpoint. [Nix] asked questions that were extremely mature and well thought out. He has made me better as a coach. He puts me in a position to really think as a coach, which I really appreciate.”