Since 2021, the Oregon Ducks have accumulated 35 victories over three seasons—a program record for a new coach. Dan Lanning guided the Ducks to a Big Ten championship in their first year in the conference. The Ducks secured top-5 recruiting and transfer portal classes, demonstrating that Eugene is a destination point for blue-chip talent. The Ducks are now solidly among the nation’s best, with ESPN placing them in the upper tier of future power. The team is young, but the outlook is good, particularly with rising stars quarterback Dante Moore and receiver Dakorien Moore poised to take center stage.

Now, talking of the future, everybody is focusing their attention on Will Stein, Dan Lanning’s $1.75 million-a-year offensive coordinator. Stein, who begins his third year in Eugene, has built the Ducks’ offense into one of the nation’s most explosive, with the Ducks averaging a stunning 39.5 points per game in 2024. This year, Stein must build a new starting quarterback for the third consecutive year. All eyes are on Dante Moore, but don’t rule out Austin Novosad. The redshirt sophomore made waves in spring practice, challenging Moore in a quarterback battle. Amidst all that, another bombshell drops on the grounds of Eugene.

Will Stein’s quarterback whisperer reputation will only be greater, and with another year under his belt, he may be in for a head coaching position. And that’s what Ducks insider Spencer MacLaughlin sheds light on in the 12th June episode of Locked On Ducks. “Will Stein will leave after this year, and Novosad will follow him.” He continues, “I am really impressed and really high on Novosad, and who recruited him is Will Stein.” The atmosphere with the program is that Stein’s stock is through the roof, and should a head coaching vacancy arise—let’s say at Stanford, where Andrew Luck is making waves nationally in recruiting, and the position all of a sudden looks much more attractive—the decision-makers may consider Stein.

As Spencer states, “Stanford, by the way, has more recruiting power than you’d think. They currently have a top 25 class; they’ve pulled top 25 high school classes in the past, and they’re using the transfer portal now that Andrew Luck is there.” The Cardinal, a long-time sleeping giant, is back in the news all of a sudden due to Andrew Luck’s recruiting abilities. Luck’s arrival has provided the program with immediate credibility and hipness that’s difficult to surmount. If the head coaching position becomes available—and let’s get real here, in the coaching merry-go-round, it’s always a question of when—why Stein?

“You know an offensive coordinator at Oregon out on the West Coast has plenty of ties up and down in the state of California and beyond. That could make plenty of sense if you’re the Cardinal and you wanted to hire a young up-and-coming coach like Stein,” Spencer admits. Stein may have begun his playing and coaching career in Louisville and Texas, but the job he has now at Oregon has placed him squarely amid the West Coast recruiting wars. He has established friendships with the high school coaches of California, Nevada, and even the East Coast over the past few years, and that’s precisely the sort of pipeline that Stanford requires if they hope to compete for blue-chip prospects.

Furthermore, Stein has already demonstrated that he can identify and develop quarterbacks—Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel, both of whom he has guided to the NFL after their breakout campaigns. Now Spencer gets right into the Austin Novosad prediction. “I always point out whenever Novasad comes up here on the show is that he was not recruited to Oregon to be a backup quarterback,” he explains. “Novosad looks like he has all the tools to be able to do that, I mean in the spring games, man, he has got some elite high-level ball placement, I mean he and Dante Moore just haven’t been that different in the two spring games,” he adds.

If you saw the two spring games, you’d be pressed to choose a definitive winner between Moore and Novosad. Both of them were airing it out, displaying their arms, and making plays that put fans on the field in an uproar. Novosad, especially, was turning heads with his upper-level ball placement. Moore, meanwhile, was his typical electric self, making plays with both his arm and his legs. But the distance between the two was not as vast as some anticipated. Indeed, during the second spring game, Novosad coordinated a couple of scoring drives that had the crowd standing, and his rapport with the receivers was unquestionable.

As the Ducks prepare another charge toward the playoffs, there is an underlying current of expectation. Stein is the most sought-after name in the coaching ranks. Both Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian leveraged their success as OCs at Alabama to become head coaches at power programs. Kiffin, for instance, was Alabama’s OC before his tenure at Florida Atlantic and is now the head coach at Ole Miss, illustrating that a scorching coordinator can shortcut their way to the head position. Even in Oregon, the trend persists. Kenny Dillingham, Oregon’s former offensive coordinator before Stein, is currently the head coach at Arizona State at age 34.

Will Stein’s system: A double-edged sword

As the Ducks prepare for another shot at the playoffs, there’s a subtle undertone of expectation. Stein is the hottest coaching name on the market, but beneath all the frisson, the light is shiniest on one individual, Dante Moore. He enters the huddle aware of the entire city of Eugene watching, hoping he can become the next Oregon legend in a succession of quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Bo Nix, Marcus Mariota, and Dillon Gabriel. But it’s not all about fulfilling history. There’s a new level of pressure due to the doubts and whispers circulating about Will Stein and his quarterback-friendly scheme.

Moore’s journey here has not been a direct path. He began at UCLA, displaying flashes of brilliance but also illustrating his freshman growing pains. Next, he transferred to Oregon, learned for a year behind Dillon Gabriel, and absorbed every last crumb of Stein’s system. Now, he claims that he’s ready—more confident, more prepared, and eager to prove himself as the man. Stein’s philosophy is to give his quarterbacks freedom: look at the field, call your shots, and don’t be shy to take a chance. That’s excellent for development, yet it also puts the burden squarely on Moore to perform.

Oregon’s opener against Montana State is an ideal opportunity to acclimate. But then comes Oklahoma State on national television, and then the Big Ten gauntlet. The Ducks can’t have a revolving quarterback door if they hope to remain in the playoff picture. He has the talent, the confidence, and the endorsement of coaches and teammates. But with Stein’s future hanging in the balance and the nation watching, this is his time to shine.