For most Tennessee football fans, hearing the slogan ‘brick by brick’ is enough to send a chill down their spine. That was, of course, one of the mantras that former Vols head coach Butch Jones used after he was hired by Tennessee in an attempt to rebuild the program.
While it looked like Jones had the Vols back on track for a period in 2016, things quickly came crashing down before he was fired after just 10 games in the 2017 season.
Now, Kentucky fans are hearing it from their new head coach. Will Stein posted a graphic on his X account on Monday that read ‘brick by brick’ and ‘building to be the best’.
Naturally, Tennessee fans are drawing the comparisons and making fun of Stein’s post.
Big Blue Butch https://t.co/lXzSIXMCdN pic.twitter.com/fBkz91Bfor
— Heisenberg🍊 (@VolturWhite) January 12, 2026
https://t.co/6VSJVoTOBP pic.twitter.com/JXTv6S7sfs
— . (@firetimbanks) January 12, 2026
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The post seems to be directed at Stein’s effort to build up the offensive line. It also said ‘The Big Blue Wall’ and ‘JS65′ in honor of legendary UK offensive line coach and player John Schlarman, who passed away in 2020. That’s an area that UT fans haven’t poked fun at, and some Kentucky fans have suggested should be a patch on the uniform.
In the effort to build up the offensive line, Stein has signed a pair of former Tennessee football linemen. This includes the Vols’ starting left tackle from the past two seasons, Lance Heard, and reserve interior lineman Max Anderson.
Stein is just 36 years old, and the Kentucky gig is his first head coaching job. He previously was the Oregon offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2023-25 under Dan Lanning. Before that, he served in multiple positions at UTSA, Lake Travis HS, Texas and Louisville.
