Stein Named October's Dodd Trophy Coach of the Month

Kentucky's first-year coach earns the honor after the Wildcats posted a 7-1 start and tied for the Southeastern Conference lead.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Football

Stein Named October's Dodd Trophy Coach of the Month

Kentucky head coach Will Stein was selected as October's Dodd Trophy Coach of the Month. The Wildcats are 7-1 overall and 5-1 in Southeastern Conference play, tied with Georgia for the SEC lead.

Why it matters

The honor recognizes a coach whose team won road games at South Carolina and Oklahoma and home wins over LSU and Vanderbilt during October. Stein is the first Kentucky head coach to start a debut season 7-1 since 1909.

Kentucky is 7-1 overall and 5-1 in SEC play, tied with Georgia for the conference lead, after a preseason SEC poll that projected the Wildcats 14th out of 16 teams. Stein's 7-1 debut start is the first by a Kentucky head coach since 1909, and the final Dodd Trophy list will not be set until the season ends.

The players

Will Stein

Kentucky's head coach in his debut season, whose team has started 7-1 and tied for the SEC lead.

Dodd Trophy

An annual college football award honoring coaches for on-field success alongside scholarship, leadership and integrity.

The details

Stein was previously named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week on September 21. The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Month honors a coach who led his team to on-field success during the prior month while embodying the award's pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.

September 21: Stein named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week.
October 2026: Stein selected as October Dodd Trophy Coach of the Month.
Saturday night, November 7, 2026: Kentucky plays at Tennessee.

Season Trajectory

Kentucky's 7-1 start places it among the early contenders in the Southeastern Conference race, sharing the lead with Georgia while the Wildcats were projected to finish 14th out of 16 in the preseason poll. The award reflects how quickly a first-year head coach has reshaped expectations for a program that had not started a debut season this strongly since 1909.

Kentucky's remaining SEC schedule will determine whether the Wildcats can hold their share of the conference lead, with the November 7 trip to Tennessee the next test. Fans following the team can track the Wildcats' conference standing week to week as the season moves toward its final stretch.

The takeaway

Stein's early success shows how quickly a new coaching staff can change a program's trajectory, and readers following Kentucky should watch conference results over the coming weeks to see whether the 7-1 start holds.

What happens next

Kentucky plays at Tennessee on Saturday night, November 7, 2026, and the 2026 Dodd Trophy recipient list will be finalized at the season's conclusion, with the winner announced in Atlanta during the week of the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.