Ryan Silverfield set to become next head coach at Arkasnas

Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield is leaving Memphis to become the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, according to On3.

It was reported earlier in the month that Silverfield interviewed for the position, but last Wednesday, it was reported that South Florida’s head coach, Alex Golesh, would be the Razorback’s next coach. Sunday morning, Golesh decided to take the Auburn job instead of signing with Arkansas, and AD Hunter Yurachek had to pivot to a different option.

Silverfield took over as the interim head coach in the 2019 Cotton Bowl against Penn State before being named the head coach ahead of the 2020 season. He spent six seasons as Memphis’ head coach, finishing with a 50-25 record.

Memphis started this year with a 6-0 record and was a favorite to be the Group of Five representative in the college football playoff. At that time, Silverfield was one of the hotter names on the coaching carousel, and it seemed very likely he’d field offers from power five schools. 

After that 6-0 start, the Tigers ended the season 2-4 and finished seventh in the conference standings. Memphis limped to the finish line and ended the year losing three straight games against Tulane, East Carolina and Navy.

One of the biggest knocks against Silverfield became the fact that he hadn't made a conference championship game. Every year, Memphis would have a competitive roster in the American but would fall short to make the championship game.

Frustrations around the program grew, especially this season with the way the season ended, and some fans were calling for a change before Silverfield took the Arkansas job.

The move for Silverfield will likely come with major ramifications for next season’s roster, especially with early signing day coming up on Wednesday. Memphis currently has 23 players committed to the 2026 class, according to rivals, and Silverfield’s staff was already working the transfer portal.

Some commits will likely make their decision soon on what the future holds in the coming days, and AD Ed Scott will likely try to move fast to hire a replacement to keep together a signing class and not get behind in the transfer market.

It’ll be interesting to see where Memphis goes in hiring a replacement for Silverfield, and it will be the first time Scott makes a hire for one of the major sports since he took over.