Will Stein is bringing a mix of old and new to his staff at Kentucky. He rounded off his hiring spree with one important staffer, who follows Stein into the SEC from the Big 10. Like the new HC, this new hire is also a first-timer in the conference. But having worked for a blueblood like Ohio State, this new chapter at Lexington should prove to be an interesting challenge for him.

Technically, Stein is making away with a staffer from his former team. Parker Fleming joined Oregon in 2024 and has been with them since as an offensive analyst. Along with special teams, Fleming will also coach inside receivers. These are areas that Fleming has been in charge of for most of his career. Fleming joins former Oregon hires Pat Biondo and Cutter Leftwich at Kentucky.

The job comes with a huge risk for Fleming, because this is the SEC and Kentucky football, after all. But Fleming has coached standouts like Daniel Brown at JMU and receivers like Emeka Egbuka at Ohio State. That’s a lot of prowess coming to Kentucky in the new coach. Fleming was fired from Ohio State in 2023 and took a step down to be an analyst for Oregon. But with this new job in Will Stein’s staff, Fleming has found his way back into the coaching ranks.

Fleming was named special teams coach for Ohio State in 2021, 3 years after beginning his second stint at Columbus. In that first year, his unit finished 20 in kickoff return defense and 22 in kickoff returns. Fleming began his coaching career at Ohio State in 2012 and worked during Urban Meyer’s elite run as head coach. His career vaguely mirrors that of the iconic coach, who had also coached receivers and special teams before moving on to bigger roles.

The Ohio State connection doesn’t end here for Will Stein and Kentucky football’s new, bold staff. An extremely young former Buckeye coach will also join the new HC at Lexington, along with Fleming.

Parker Fleming joins another former Ohio State staffer at Kentucky

The other former OSU staffer who will join Stein and Fleming is Tony Washington Jr. He graduated from his alma mater, Oregon, in 2017. He used to work as the assistant D-line coach in Columbus, and will be the DEs and outside LBs coach at Kentucky. Washington was with the Buckeyes for just the 2025 season. Will Stein also knows him personally, as Washington worked as an assistant position coach on the defense from 2021-2023.

Washington was a prolific DL for Oregon as a player, finishing with 158 total tackles and 14.5 sacks on the D-line. He’s also had short stints in other programs, but began as a graduate assistant for Nebraska. Washington also had a stop at UCLA, where he worked with the D-line and OLB coaches.

Will Stein has been open to hiring staffers from a familiar Oregon talent pool in Kentucky. While he has no connection to the state or the program, he needs people with experience from marquee names in college football, because he’s building Kentucky in a similar light. Parker Fleming will bring much-needed experience to the special teams, despite being one of the quieter figures as a CFB coach.

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