In the past few years, the University of Kentucky has seen many monumental changes in head coaching positions. As an SEC school, UK is popular for their athletics, leading to these changes drawing the eyes of many. UK Football Head Coach Will Stein was a huge addition to the Big Blue Nation. He has brought many new additions to the UK Football staff alongside him.
Stein replaced former UK Football head coach of 13 years Mark Stoops. Stein signed a 5 year contract with the school. He is a Kentucky native with his father being a UK Football alumni. Stein’s former coaching experience includes being the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the University of Oregon. This coming 2026 football season will be Stein’s first time as a head coach. This leaves fans anxious to see the outcome.
New names such as Joe Sloan, Jay Bateman, Pete Nochta, and Pat Biondo are on UK Football’s coaching staff. Sloan is the new offensive coordinator for the team. He spent the previous four years at Louisiana State University (LSU). In 2024 he was named LSU’s offensive coordinator, giving him experience in the field. During this time, LSU was ranked number two in the SEC and ranked seventh in the nation for passing offense.
Bateman was named the new defensive coordinator for the coming year. He comes from two seasons at Texas A&M. On UK Football’s staff page Stein credited Bateman saying “His ability to develop players, create disruptive defenses, and consistently compete at a high level has stood out everywhere he’s been. Jay brings energy, experience, and a clear vision for how we want to play defense, and we’re excited to welcome him to Kentucky.”
Nochta will follow Stein as the assistant general manager. Notcha also comes from a school in the Bluegrass: Louisville. He served 10 seasons there with the last four being as the director of recruiting. He has also gained experience through his time at the University of Florida, Purdue, and Western Kentucky.
Biondo is the new general manager for UK Football athletics. Just like Stein he came from the University of Oregon. There he was the director of recruiting strategy. He helped Oregon bring in four consecutive top-15 ranked recruiting classes. Prior to this Biondo was also at Texas A&M.
Overall, the UK Football staff has seen many changes to this coming season. There are more new names seen in addition to these few names. The roster is also filled with new recruits. It is hoped that with these changes more wins will be seen compared to the prior seasons. In 2025 the team went 5-7 ranking 83 out of 136.
