Arkansas football expected to hire Memphis' Ryan Silverfield as next head coach | Report
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FAYETTEVILLE — Memphis has been a model of consistency under Ryan Silverfield. According to multiple reports, Arkansas football is hoping it can be the new beneficiary.
The Razorbacks are targeting Silverfield as the school’s next head coach, according to CBS Sports and On3. Silverfield’s hiring ends a coaching search that spanned two months that began when Arkansas fired Sam Pittman after a Week 5 blowout loss to Notre Dame.
Silverfield, 45, just wrapped up his sixth full season at Memphis. The Tigers went 8-4 and upset the Razorbacks in late September. They finished tied for sixth place in the American Conference.
Memphis went 50-25 during Silverfield’s tenure, winning at least six games and obtaining postseason eligibility in every season. He produced back-to-back double-figure winning seasons from 2023-24, going 21-5 in the two-year stretch. However, he’s never finished better than third in the American Conference standings.
Silverfield has been involved in college coaching since 2000, when he was hired as an offensive assistant at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney.
He arrived at Memphis in 2016 as the offensive line coach after separate stints at the high school, college and NFL ranks. He served as an assistant coach for the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings and spent time at Jacksonville, UCF, Toledo and Arizona State.
Silverfield was part of Memphis staffs that led the program to three straight American Athletic Conference West Division crowns from 2017-19 and four straight bowl appearances from 2016-19.
Memphis won the 2019 American Athletic Conference championship with a 29-24 win over Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl. Silverfield was the run-game coordinator and associate head coach behind Mike Norvell, who left for Florida State after the 12-1 season. Silverfield was named the interim coach and then promoted to the full-time role.
Arkansas craves the kind of consistent winning Silverfield experienced with the Tigers. The Hogs are coming off a 2-10 campaign under the combination of Pittman and interim coach Bobby Petrino. In their past three seasons, the Razorbacks have a combined record of 13-24 overall. That mark drops to 4-20 in the SEC.
His first and arguably most important task will be retention. Despite the poor record, the Hogs have a core of young players on offense who could be multi-year starters. Offensive linemen Kobe Branham, Caden Kitler and E’Marion Harris all started this season and still have eligibility.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Arkansas football expected to hire Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield as next coach | Report
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