Why Ryan Silverfield Believes Arkansas Is 'The Best Job in the Country'

Why Ryan Silverfield Believes Arkansas Is 'The Best Job in the Country'

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Why Ryan Silverfield Believes Arkansas Is 'The Best Job in the Country'
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield at spring practice
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield at spring practice. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The view inside Razorback Stadium can leave an unforgettable impression for anyone, especially an 8-year-old kid, like myself, in 2000.

Standing outside the northeast corner and looking down into the stadium, for the first time, it felt larger than life. Even without understanding much about Arkansas football history, that moment sparked an obsession with the sport that has never really gone away.

That same feeling is what Ryan Silverfield described when he first walked into Razorback Stadium as Arkansas' head coach.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during spring practices.
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during spring practices. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Around that same period, a young Ryan Silverfield out of Jacksonville, (Fla.) closed one chapter of his football career following a neck injury in high school at The Bolles School.

Instead of letting a single moment in a journey put an end to his impact on the gridiron, he knew there was only one thing to do and that was coach.

Silverfield, 18-years-old at the time, began his coaching career as a student-assistant during his senior year of high school.

He went on to pursue assistant roles when he enrolled at Hampden-Sydney, a DIII school in Virginia, absorbing four years of football knowledge from veteran college coaches that would translate to his entire coaching career.

He returned a little closer to home in Savannah, (Ga.) for his first head coaching job at Memorial High School, leading his team to a 1-9 record before realizing that wasn't where he is meant to be.

Fast forward through the next 21 years of development as a college assistant at Jacksonville, UCF, and then receiving an NFL opportunity with the Vikings, his career continued to accelerate which led to him linking up Mike Norvell at Arizona State in 2014.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield looks over to the sidelines during the spring game at CommunityAmerica Razorback Stadium. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

A career is all about moments, networking with certain people who see something in a person but still remembering where you come from.

Every stop along Silverfield's coaching journey prepared him for the moment he finally walked into Razorback Stadium as Arkansas' head coach. Walking out of the tunnel, he couldn't help but notice the hairs on his neck stand up when he entered Razorback Stadium the very first time.

"Well, obviously, you almost get overwhelmed by the beautiful stadium and everything in the history of Arkansas football," Silverfield said. "I mean, that's the very first thing… You walk in there, like you said, man, you just think about seeing some of the retired jersey numbers, and some of the games that have been played in there."

Coaching isn't just a job to Silverfield, but a daily reminder that he carries the torch of Arkansas' program tradition. Even though his love for football began elsewhere, he embraces everything that Arkansas fans could want in a coach.

Whether that appreciation translates into wins remains to be seen. Silverfield has been upfront about the challenge ahead, but his belief in the job itself has never wavered.

He wants to restore pride in the Arkansas program not only for the fans' sake, but former players and alumni. And the Hogs' first-year head coach isn't going down without a fight either.

"More than anything, it's my gratitude for people that I now get to represent by taking this job as head coach," Silverfield said. "Who I now represent day-to-day, not only the entire state of Arkansas, all the great fans, but the legends that came before me.

"Every day, I sit in this chair as the head coach of Arkansas. I go to work for Coach Broyles, right? I mean, I put on the respect for guys like Brandon Burlsworth, for all these people like Darren McFadden, the fans all throughout the state."

First-year Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield sits at his office desk after accepting the Razorbacks' head coaching job.
First-year Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield sits at his office desk after accepting the Razorbacks' head coaching job. | Razorback Footbal

And it all ties back to walking into Razorback Stadium for the first time, seeing the gorgeous brick and glass facade, home of the Razorbacks glowing in red on the press box, and feeling the spirit of the Ozarks filter in from the open northeast corner of the endzone.

Silverfield probably doesn't know it yet, but wait until he hears the "Woo Pig Sooie" chant echo through the mountains surrounding the stadium at kickoff of the season opener against North Alabama.

"Like, I literally.. this.. I feel the pride and want to do well by them, and I don't know if every job in the country is like this, but when I walked into the stadium, I immediately felt, "Okay, this is a fantastic responsibility, amazing, the best job in the country, and I can't wait to get to work in order to do right by everybody."

Editor's Note: This is the first installment in a series profiling first-year Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield, his coaching journey and the values he hopes will define the next era of Razorbacks football.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arkansas as Why Ryan Silverfield Believes Arkansas Is 'The Best Job in the Country'.

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