Oregon is preparing for a College Football Playoff game and Kentucky is in the thick of a roster build in the transfer portal. There is a lot going on right now. Despite the madness, new head football coach Will Stein is still attempting to put the final touches on his first coaching staff in Lexington. A big hire was made on Monday.

Kentucky is hiring South Florida Assistant Athletics Director/Director of Olympic Sports Performance Brandon Roberts as the program’s new leader of the strength and conditioning program. Roberts will officially be Kentucky’s Director of Football Sports Performance.

“I’m very excited to join Will Stein at Kentucky,” Roberts said in a release. “I see a place that can achieve greatness and make a real impact in this conference.”

“I coached Will for two years at Louisville and immediately saw the fire and determination in him. No challenge was too big, no moment too high-pressure. He thrived in every situation. I later had the privilege of coaching alongside him for five years at UofL and Texas. He brought that same passion and ‘gunslinger’ mentality from his playing days into coaching. You can spend five minutes with him and know he has the ‘it’ factor. Even more, he genuinely cares about people and players. He’s not just running a football program; he’s building a culture rooted in trust, belief and family values. That’s exactly the kind of environment I want to be part of.”

Brandon Roberts the associate strength coach at Louisville from 2010-14. Roberts both coached Will Stein and worked with him. The two spent time together on the same Texas staff from 2015-16 where they both worked for Charlie Strong. After Stein left Texas to become a high school offensive coordinator, Roberts followed Strong to South Florida. The strength staffer would remain in Tampa for nine years. Roberts went from associate head strength coach to his assistant AD job in 2020.

“Brandon Roberts is one of the best in the business when it comes to developing complete athletes,” Stein said. “He understands how elite performance, durability, and culture all work together. He brings high character, accountability, and a player-first mindset that will elevate everything we do in our program, and I’m excited to have him at Kentucky.”

The Tennessee native played defensive line at Middle Tennessee from 2005-07. Brandon Roberts worked on the strength staff at Florida while Strong was on Urban Meyer’s staff in Gainesville. The new hire will be working in the strength and conditioning program with Joe Miday. Both were former Louisville staffers. Roberts worked under Strong while Miday worked under Petrino.

A critical hire has been made. Kentucky’s new strength staff will work closely with this year’s team once players report for the start of the spring semester later this month.

Another former Kentucky analyst will be a coordinator again

Brad Lambert spent last season working as a defensive analyst and as a nickels coach for Kentucky after a three-year run as a defensive coordinator at Wake Forest ended. That led to an opportunity to become Marshall’s defensive coordinator. Something similar has happened for Kevin Barbay.

The former Central Michigan, App State, Mississippi State, and Houston offensive coordinator spent the 2025 season as an offensive analyst on Kentucky’s staff working closely with offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. The 43-year-old went one-and-done at a program for a fifth consecutive season, but that led to an opportunity to be a play-caller in 2026.

Tulsa offensive coordinator Brad Robbins left to become the new quarterbacks coach at TCU this offseason. That created an opening on Tre Lamb‘s staff entering year two. Barbay will be the play caller for the Golden Hurricane as this American Conference program looks to take a leap after a 4-8 debut for the former FCS head coach in year one.

Former Kentucky staffers Barbay, Lambert, Hamdan (Mississippi State associate head coach for offense), Brad White (Florida defensive coordinator), Derek Shay (Texas A&M tight ends), Eric Wolford (LSU offensive line), Jay Boulware (West Virginia running backs), L’Damian Washington (Ole Miss wide receivers), Mike Hartline (South Florida quarterbacks), and Chris Collins (Florida safeties) have all found jobs in college football for 2026.