Ryan Silverfield is in huge trouble, but let's pinpoint why this is true
Ryan Silverfield knows he's in an impossible situation right now at Arkansas, and when a coach is in an impossible situation, fans are going to be desperate for solutions. This desperation leads to every word, every syllable, every bodily twitch or gesture, being microanalyzed and dissected. It's just the reality and nature of the business. This is how it is when things are going wrong. Arkansas is not unique in this regard. This is Anywhere USA. Any coach in Silverfield's spot would be receiving this kind of treatment.
Let's try to achieve some clarity on what is and isn't the problem for Ryan Silverfield at Arkansas.
What isn't the problem: Silverfield's lack of intensity and fire. Some fans want him to be a lot more angry and emotional in response to what's happening. That's totally understandable. DO SOMETHING! ANYTHING! It's the most obvious and natural human response we have to a growing crisis. "At least show you care!" That sort of thing.
The unfortunate reality is that emoting or being fiery doesn't really solve anything. It doesn't suddenly fix problems. Having a better plan? That actually fixes problems.
We recommended last week that Arkansas and Silverfield should go to a no-huddle, hurry-up offense. That might at least get all the players into a different mindset where they just naturally react instead of overthinking and worrying. The no-huddle approach also has the value of slowing down the opposing team's pass rush and creating a scramble situation in which raw physical power isn't as impactful as it ordinarily would be.
To Silverfield's credit, he put AJ Hill into the game in place of KJ Jackson well before garbage time. He gave Hill meaningful reps. That shows he's trying to shake things up and see if the team will respond differently. It's not as though Silverfield is sitting on his hands here. Expecting more emotion is a completely understandable reaction, but it just doesn't go anywhere.
Silverfield's problem is Hunter Yurachek, the man who hired him. Yurachek isn't making the investments Arkansas needs from its athletic director. Yurachek is asking Silverfield to do his own fundraising. Isn't that the administrator's job? John Calipari and Dave Van Horn are doing their own fundraising as well, but they are giants in their professions and are coming at their work from a very different position which is far stronger and more solid than what Silverfield inhabits.
Silverfield getting angry might be a five-second sugar high for Arknasas fans, but when those five seconds are over, UA will still have a poorly-funded football program with an out-of-touch AD who needs to be canned. Let's just be real about what we're facing here.
