Ryan Silverfield has a lot to prove at Arkansas, and fans are going to be skeptical -- as they should
The Arkansas football coaching search reached a quick resolution on Sunday morning, but "quick" and "exciting" or "invigorating" are not the same things. The Razorbacks and Hunter Yurachek have hired Ryan Silverfield of Memphis. This news comes alongside the reports that South Florida coach Alex Golesh has taken the open head coaching job at Auburn.
Golesh and Arkansas were strongly linked in the coaching carousel rumor mill, but a leak got out about the two sides and their negotiations. South Florida administrators, then Golesh, pushed back in public against the reports, only for Golesh to go somewhere else. This is going to be a huge talking point in 2026 and beyond: What if Arkansas had been able to keep a tighter lid on possible negotiations with Golesh, allow the USF coach to quietly coach his final game, and then come back to the table Saturday night or Sunday morning with an offer?
Alex Golesh and Ryan Silverfield are going to be constantly compared in Arkansas, because it will be hard for Razorback fans to feel they got the better candidate of the two.
Ryan Silverfield did win 11 games at Memphis last season, and 10 in 2023. That's why he is heading to Fayetteville: two solid seasons. However, Silverfield won 50 games in six seasons on the job after Mike Norvell left him with a thriving program. Norvell, of course, left Memphis for Florida State and is currently struggling. Silverfield did not win a conference championship or make a major bowl game. He never finished higher than third place in the American Conference.
It's true that Golesh didn't win the American Conference this season at South Florida, but Golesh spent fewer seasons at USF and generated real improvement for a program which was struggling when he arrived. Silverfield inherited a strong program from Mike Norvell and did not maintain the standard Norvell established.
Ryan Silverfield lost to East Carolina and Navy to finish Memphis's 2025 season. He is not arriving at Arkansas as an ascendant coach who is wowing observers and insiders. Silverfield needs to make some excellent hires for his coordinators and staffers to build real confidence that he is the man to take Arkansas to the next level.
Hog fans will rightly think that Alex Golesh was and is better. Ryan Silverfield will need to work hard -- and smartly -- to change that perception, both locally and in the SEC at large. Now Silverfield needs to get to work and call in some quality Hogs to bolster a roster which finished 0-8 in the SEC this season.
Good luck, coach. You will need it.