Sources: Arkansas set to hire Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield
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Arkansas’ next head coach won’t have to move too far.
The Razorbacks are set to hire Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield, sources tell Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. Silverfield has been the Tigers’ coach for the past six seasons since Mike Norvell left the Tigers to become the head coach at Florida State.
Ryan Silverfield has informed Memphis that he is leaving for Arkansas, sources tell @YahooSports.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 30, 2025
Arkansas fired coach Sam Pittman after a 2-3 start and were coached by offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino for the final seven games of the season. Those seven games ended any chance Petrino had of becoming Arkansas’ coach for a second time as the Razorbacks went 0-7 to finish the season.
In his six seasons as Memphis' head coach, Silverfield went 50-25. The Tigers' best season with him as coach was last year when they went 11-2. Silverfield also served as the interim coach in the Cotton Bowl in 2019 after Norvell left for FSU and the Tigers lost to Penn State, 53-39.
Memphis won 21 games over the 2023 and 2024 seasons but fell to 8-4 in 2025. The Tigers beat Arkansas 32-31 on Sept. 20, a week before Pittman was fired following a loss to Notre Dame.
The Tigers ended the season on a three-game losing streak to other top teams in the American Conference. After beating South Florida 34-31 to move to 7-1, the Tigers beat Rice before losing to Tulane, East Carolina and Navy to fall out of College Football Playoff contention. The Midshipmen beat Memphis 28-17 on Thanksgiving night.
At Arkansas, Silverfield goes from one of the most well-resourced programs in the American to one that has struggled for consistent relevance in the SEC. Arkansas has just one nine-win season since it went 11-2 in Petrino’s final season in 2011. In the following 14 seasons, the Razorbacks have just six bowl appearances.
Pittman was responsible for three of them and that nine-win season. Arkansas went 9-4 in 2021, but fell to 7-6 the following year. After a 4-8 campaign in 2023, Pittman was retained for 2024 and went 7-6 with a Liberty Bowl victory.
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