Coaching merry-go-round: Silverfield seems Razorbacks' top choice

Memphis coach could be leader for Arkansas job but several others appear to be in the mix

Memphis Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield reacts on the field after defeating the South Florida Bulls at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis on Oct. 25. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Who's the best choice to lead the Arkansas football program? Is it an up-and-coming coach who is winning big at a small school?

Or is it a guy with SEC experience at two schools, though he was fired by Florida? By the way, he's 6-2 now at UNLV after leading the school to its best start since 1974 at 6-0.

Or is the best choice the coach who turned perennial Big 10 doormat Northwestern into a winning program?

SMU coach Rhett Lashlee is likely the Hogs' first choice but apparently has little desire to return to his roots in Northwest Arkansas and signed a new six-year contract after winning the ACC last season.

Oh, and he's sitting on a pile of NIL cash thanks to boosters who have always spent freely, even when it was illegal.

That first list from the Group of Five schools -- that means mid-majors, of course -- is led by the trio of North Texas coach Eric Morris, Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield and South Florida coach Alex Golesh.

Site lists Silverfield as top choice

The Hogs met Silverfield up close in their fourth game this season and lost a 32-31 nailbiter in Memphis, partially due to this late fumble at the Memphis 8-yard line.

Oh my goodness, Memphis just forced an Arkansas fumble in the final 90 seconds

WOW!! This is a DISASTER for Razorbacks

That’s Stoerner-esque pic.twitter.com/mfLhM5XEah

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) September 20, 2025

Silverfield, Morris and Golesh all coach in the American Athletic Conference and are battling Navy for the league title.

Memphis and North Texas are both 8-1 overall, 4-1 in the conference, while South Florida is 6-2, 3-1.

All three appear to be excellent choices and will get their shot at a bigger Power 4 program in the SEC, Big 10, ACC or Big 12.

For Silverfield, that leap to the big time could be realized with a call from Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek.

Silverfield has been rumored to be headed to Fayetteville and is a betting favorite on Kalshi, an online predictive site.

Gus Malzahn coached Central Florida until taking the offensive coordinator job at Florida State this season, a job he previously held at Arkansas. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Problem with that site's odds are that it lists Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn as the second favorite, with Tulane coach Jon Sumrall tied with Hogs interim head coach Bobby Petrino as the third speculative choices.

Malzahn, despite his Arkansas roots and time as the Hogs' offensive coordinator in 2006, is not the likely choice. Neither is Petrino, who is 0-4 since taking over for the fired Sam Pittman, with three of those losses coming in Razorback Stadium.

Silverfield is 50-22 in six seasons at Memphis and 29-6 in the last three. The Hogs could do a lot worse.

Is Fitzgerald now in mix for Arkansas job?

A late addition to the Arkansas coaching search could be Pat Fitzgerald, who coached at Northwestern for 17 seasons and went to 10 bowl games. He guided the Wildcats to three of the five 10-win seasons in school history and twice won the Big 10 Western Division.

Pat Fitzgerald revitalized the downtrodden Northwestern Wildcats program and led them to 10 bowl games in 17 seasons. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Fitzgerald led a program derisively called the "Mildcats" to a 106-81 record in his first 15 seasons before finishing 4-20 and being fired after charges of hazing in his program surfaced in 2022.

He settled out of court, insists his program was clean, and wants to return to coaching.

The safe choice for Yurachek seems to be Dan Mullen, who coached successfully at Mississippi State and Florida, though he was fired by the Gators after four seasons.

Mullen is 109-63 as a head coach and won two national championships with coach Urban Meyer and Florida as their offensive coordinator in 2006 and '08.

He parlayed that into the Mississippi State job and led the Bulldogs to a 69-46 record. He was only 33-39 in SEC games while at Stark-vegas.

But in 2014, Mullen and junior quarterback Dak Prescott -- now the longtime QB for the Dallas Cowboys -- led Mississippi State to its first-ever No. 1 national ranking. That 9-0 stars included wins over No. 8 LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn.

Losses followed to No. 5 Alabama and No. 19 Ole Miss led to a 10-2 mark, just the third 10-win season in Bulldogs history.

Mullen jumped to Florida for the 2018 season and was 21-5 in his first two years with the Gators, going 5-3 and 6-2 in the SEC.

Florida Gators coach Dan Mullen was fired after losing to the Missouri Tigers on Nov. 20, 2021 but led the Gators to a 34-15 record in four seasons, including 21-13 in the SEC. He was 19-7 in his first three years at Florida in the SEC and 29-9 overall. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

In the 2020 COVID season, Florida was 8-4, 8-2 against SEC foes but slumped to 5-6 in 2021 and 2-6 in the conference. Mullen was fired after losing to Missouri, giving him a 21-13 SEC record in four season with the Gators.

What makes Mullen attactive to Yurachek is that knowledge of the SEC, what it takes to recruit against the best in the talent-rich South, and a history of jump-starting programs.

But is he a retread based on the final flop at Florida or a program builder like he was considered following his nine seasons of success at downtrodden Mississippi State?

According to this USA Today article, the 53-year-old Mullen will have a new address next month and it'll be in Northwest Arkansas.