In UTSA’s Will Stein, Dan Lanning and the Ducks are potentially getting a rising star at OC

A little less than a year ago, not many Oregon Duck fans were jumping for joy when new head coach Dan Lanning announced Kenny Dillingham would be the offensive coordinator.

Dillingham, the 31-year-old OC for the Florida State Seminoles at the time, had some coaching experience, working with Mike Norvell and coaching Bo Nix, but it’s fair to say that he wasn’t viewed as a splash hire.

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Oregon names UTSA's Will Stein as offensive coordinator

Looking back, Duck fans should have been popping bottles at the news Dillingham was coming to Eugene. The success he brought to the Ducks is unmeasured, leading a resurgent Oregon offense that ranked among the best in the nation in nearly every category on the board. Dillingham returned the quarterback position to the high standard Duck fans were used to, leading Bo Nix to a Heisman Trophy worthy season before a late-season injury derailed his bid.

So with Duck fans now unsure of what to make of the newest Oregon OC hire — UTSA co-offensive coordinator Will Stein — I’m here to tell you it’s something worth getting excited for in Eugene.

Do you trust Lanning? If your answer to that question is yes, then you should be thrilled about the prospect of Stein coming to Eugene.

“Elite offensive mind, balanced offensive attack, understands how to utilize weapons,” a source told me about the OC hire on Monday. “Dude is a rising star.”

In a way, Stein fits the coaching model Lanning brought to Oregon: a young, up-and-coming guy that has shown promise at previous stops and is ready to thrive at a higher level. After playing quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals from 2008-2012, Stein moved through the coaching ranks from graduate assistant at Louisville to quality control coach for the Texas Longhorns.

After a brief stint coaching high school ball in Texas, Stein was hired as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the UTSA Roadrunners and was later promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Under Stein’s tutelage, the UTSA wideouts smashed records and emerged as one of the top groups in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2021. Joshua Cephus, De’Corian Clark and Zakhari Franklin combined to catch 204 passes for 2,585 yards and 25 TDs and made UTSA one of only three teams (Appalachian State, Ohio State) to have three receivers with at least 50 receptions and 750 yards in 2021.

This season, Franklin and Cephus combined for 2,085 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Again, I am going to go back to the notion that some Oregon fans might not be excited about this hire. I understand. Stein doesn’t have the name recognition of Joe Brady, or Chip Long or Garrett Riley. However, if you trust in Dan Lanning, then you should trust in this hire.

Nobody was celebrating when Matt Powledge, or Drew Mehringer or Adrian Klemm were hired a year ago. After a year of seeing them work, though, it’s clear the coaches Lanning surrounded himself with are among the best hires that we’ve seen at Oregon in quite some time.

Who’s to say that Stein will not be the next great offensive coordinator in college football, flooded with head coaching offers in a couple years’ time? We didn’t quite see that happening with Dillingham, but Lanning did, and look where we are now.

I love this hire. I love what I’ve seen from Stein at UTSA and how he attacks the offensive side of the ball with an aggressive scheme that puts playmakers in a place to succeed and puts points on the board.

More than that, I like this hire because I know that Lanning likes this hire. He isn’t after the big names that are going to win press conferences. He’s after coaches who are going to put his team in the best position to win games.

Lanning believes that Stein is the OC who is going to do that for Oregon.

Who am I to disagree?

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Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire