Mark Stoops is officially out as head coach of Kentucky football and now Mitch Barnhart will begin his first search for a football coach in 13 years.

Now, with national signing day coming up on Wednesday, Dec. 3 and the transfer portal opening in January, this coaching search is not expected to take very long.

One of the biggest names fans have been hearing all year and might have even wanted the most was Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall.

However, his name was removed from the running before the Kentucky job even opened as he accepted the job to become Florida’s next head coach.

Below are some names to watch out for and that you may be hearing a lot over the coming days.

Will Stein-

The name most likely to be the favorite for the job is current Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein.

Stein is a Louisville, Kentucky native who grew up rooting for the blue and white Wildcats, but suited up for the red and white home Cardinals for his college playing days.

Another connection to Lexington for Stein is that his father Matt played football for UK in the 1980s.

When it comes to coaching, Stein led as a coordinator at UTSA where he found success before landing the job with the Ducks under Dan Lanning in 2022.

During his tenure, Stein has coached back-to-back NFL quarterbacks in Bo Nix and Dillion Gabriel.

When it comes to stats, his offense has continued to perform in 2025 as it is ninth in the country at 38.2 points per game and 13th 465.2 yards per game.

Why the favorite?- The Kentucky roots and his offensive success with the young core Kentucky has built has shot Stein up the list for possible fits. Cutter Boley has cemented himself as the QB in Lexington and has expressed interest in staying (however, it’s unknown how the Stoops departure could affect that) so Stein’s proven offensive track record is doing the talking for him in this situation.

Possible drawbacks?- The most glaring drawback with Stein is that he has never been a head coach before in his career so that is always a gamble. Also, it is unknown if he would even be interested in taking an SEC gig since he has a great thing going at Oregon and may not want to move conferences. Furthermore, if the Ducks are in the College Football Playoff, Stein would be pulling double duty during one of the most critical times of the year.

Dan Mullen- 

Big Blue Nation may remember Dan Mullen from his time with the Florida Gators, but he could find his way back into the SEC with the Wildcats.

If he were to be the man picked, it would be his third stint in the SEC as he spent nine seasons at Mississippi State and boasted a 69-46 record that revitalized the Bulldogs.

Mullen’s next stop saw him take over as the head coach of the Florida Gators, where he spent four seasons before being fired with a 34-15 overall record.

After being fired from the Gators, Mullen took two seasons off before becoming the head coach of UNLV.

Pros: Like Stein, Mullen has led a high-flying offense with the Rebels and led them to a 10-2 record. Also, Mullen has won in the SEC and been through a rebuild. While Kentucky has some great young talent, it’s far from a complete team and will need a lot of roster work.

Cons: Mullen has a buyout that Kentucky would need to pay, and may not want to pay depending on the final number it is going to cost to cut ties with Stoops. Furthermore, it is unknown how Mullen would handle building a roster in this new age of college football as he was scrutinized at Florida for not bringing in big recruits. It’s fair to question that ability if he was unsuccessful at a big-time program like Florida and how that could hurt Kentucky.

Brian Hartline-

Next up on the list is another offensive coordinator out of the Big 1o, this time Brian Hartline out of Ohio State.

Hartline has been with the Buckeyes since 2017 and was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2023.

Ohio State has turned into an offensive powerhouse this season as it currently sits at No. 1 in the country and has its eyes on a national title. Hartline’s offense is 13th in the country in points per game at 37 and 24th when it comes to yards per game at 438.5.

Pros: One of the biggest selling points with Hartline is his recruiting ability as he’s gained a reputation for being a very good recruiter. Recruiting is going to be one of the most essential parts of the job at Kentucky and bringing in someone who is proven in that department could give him a leg up on the other possible suitors. Like Stein, Hartline has family ties to the program as his brother Mike is already on the staff as a Quality Control Assistant for the offense. Also, proven offensive success would do wonders for Kentucky who has the talent, but is lacking the consistent results on offense.

Cons: Kentucky could be a tough sell for Hartline as he would be leaving a national title contender for a rebuild in another conference. Hartline also may be bidding his time for a bigger job in college football, possibly even the Buckeyes if it were to open. However, if Hartline were to be the pick, it would instantly make things tricky as he would have to pull double duty through the month of December as Ohio State is a lock for the College Football Playoff.

Glenn Schumann- 

While most of this list has been offensive focused, Glenn Schumann bucks that trend as he is currently defensive play-caller for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Schumann has worked under college football coaching royalty with both Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.

Pros: One thing the entire country knows is that you are in for a long day on offense when you play the Bulldogs. They traditionally bring one of the best defenses in the SEC and have not slowed down this season by ranking 12th in the country (third in SEC) by allowing just 16.67 points per game.

Cons: One of the biggest things that could hurt Kentucky here is that multiple jobs are still out there in this coaching cycle that has been very active already. Schumann has been on a few of these lists for other jobs in the SEC, but has not come up much even as a rumor, so he may not be going anywhere. Despite being successful, it might be hard for Big Blue Nation to buy-in to another defensive focused head coach after how things ended with Stoops and Schumann would have to sell himself early to the fanbase. This could result in heightened pressure for immediate success.

Brian Kelly-

One program’s terminated coach could open the door to fill an empty seat in Lexington. Brain Kelly added to the list of mid-season firings during this wild season of college football after he was let go by LSU in October.

Pros: Kelly does boast a loaded resume with success all-across different levels of college football despite the dismissal at LSU. It could result in a proven commodity falling into the lap of Kentucky as Kelly has yet to be linked to the long list of openings across the sport with many already being filled. When it comes to a marquee name on the market, Kelly would certainly be the most well-known name on this list.

Cons: By far the biggest con for Kelly has been off the field storylines dominating the news in the worst of ways. It seemed like the mounting of those various incidents culminated in him being let go by the Tigers. This puts into question whether or not someone like this is fit to usher in a new era of a program that has become an SEC bottom-feeder.

As things currently sit it is all speculation of who the next coach will be and all eyes will remain on Barnhart to make the call.