Did Razorbacks' disastrous season just end with a horrible hire?

Arkansas' promotes Silverfield from Memphis to SEC stature but critics are mortified

Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield points to a flag on the field after a penalty was called on USF during a game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tenn. | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Memphis is known for mouth-watering ribs and marvelous music but definitely not for fabulous football.

Basketball has been king in the Home of the Blues, not football. Rare is the season that Memphis football would draw national attention or climb into the bottom of the top 25 rankings.

Ryan Silverfield changed that, at least a little bit. In five season since taking over the Memphis Tigers' football program, the coach won two-thirds of his games.

Now Silverfield is being asked to keep Arkansas' football team in the national spotlight -- for positive reasons, please! -- and to reverse the fortunes of the downtrodden program.

He'll be entrusted as caretaker of Razorback fans' emotions for the five months that begin with August two-a-days and hopefully end with a bowl game in January.

Silverfield didn't waste time in sending a positive message to Razorback Nation. In part, he said, "I can't wait to get to Fayetteville to get started. We're going to bring a lot of success to the Hogs."

I call that bold talk. But that's what every new coach says, whether they're being introduced at Auburn, Florida, Penn State or one of the other college campuses where a coach was fired and now a new one is hired.

First choice or last, Silverfield is now Boss Hog

Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek acted like Silverfield was his first choice -- or, perhaps the Board of Trustees' favorite pick -- ever since they fired Hogs coach Sam Pittman.

Pittman was in his sixth year with the Hogs but after the fifth game this season, an embarrassing 56-13 loss to Notre Dame, he was replaced by interim coach Bobby Petrino, the offensive coordinator.

"Throughout the search process, Coach Silverfield’s proven ability to win games over a sustained period separated him from the pack and make him the right choice to be our next head football coach," Yurachek said Sunday in a UA release.

Former Memphis football coach Ryan Silverfield and his wife Mariana Sliverfield posed Dec. 13, 2019, with Memphis Director of Athletics Laird Veatch while holding a Tigers team jersey. | Ariel Cobbert / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now, he's the Boss Hog. Silverfield led Memphis to a 32-31 victory over Arkansas the week before the Hogs were pummeled by Notre Dame.

Silverfield's record was 50-25 at Memphis, and 4-1 in bowl games. He attracted NIL support at Memphis and coached the Tigers into a program that competed with other mid-majors -- that's the Group of Five, a full step below the SEC -- for a shot at the College Football Playoff.

Not everyone is pleased with Arkansas' choice

When word leaked Sunday that Silverfield would soon be living in Northwest Arkansas, it didn't take long for the critics to sound off. Here's our own Andy Hodges with insightful perspective:

Fair points, Andy. Silverfield, who'll be introduced Thursday at the UA, may not "win" the press conference or excite everyone enough to mail in a check.

Hogs hoops coach John Calipari never "wins" a press conference. He can be curt (some say beligerent), talks in stream of consciousness, and rarely makes himself available to Arkansas media.

But Coach Cal is a name, a known quantity, a Hall of Famer. He boasts an impressive resume, which included nine seasons coaching the Memphis Tigers.

My point? Silverfield deserves his shot. He obviously earned the chance as his name was mentioned in connection with jobs other than Arkansas.

Calipari was 50 years old when hired by Kentucky. Maybe in five years, Silverfield has proved himself beyond a doubt and Arkansas will be trying to keep him while Auburn is trying to hire him.

Long, winding road led Silverfield to Fayetteville

The 45-year-old Silverfield was born in Jacksonville, Fla., was an assistant at his high school alma mater and at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, where he coached both sides of the ball while earning an economics degree.

He was a high school head coach at 23, quarterbacks coach at Jacksonville University two years later, then a graduate assistant for both offense and defense at Central Florida in 2006-07.

He was a low-level assistant in the NFL for the Minnesota Vikings, and at Toledo and Arizona State universities, then assistant offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions.

Then he got the offensive line coaching job at Memphis in 2016 and progressed quickly to head coach. Here's his progress since 2015:

• 2015 Detroit Lions – Assistant Offensive Line
• 2016 Memphis – Offensive Line
• 2017 Memphis – Run Game Coordinator, OL
• 2018 Memphis – Assistant Head Coach, Run Game Coordinator, OL
• 2019 Memphis – Deputy Head Coach, Run Game Coordinator, OL
• 2019-25 Memphis – Head Coach

Here's one opinion of the Razorbacks' decision to hire Silverfield, just a big swing and miss:

Arkansas trying to hire a football coach.. pic.twitter.com/twmNf8plKW

— Ball Hog 🐗 (@BallHog2024) November 30, 2025

Others were more upset and couldn't contain their disgust. I dare say some of the sentiments below are shared by many Hog fans.

I’m Done. Burn the Whole Thing Down.
Let me be absolutely blunt: I’m leaving this Arkansas fanbase because the people in charge have turned this program into a dumpster fire, kicked it down a hill, and then acted shocked when everything went up in flames.
Hunter Yurachek and the… pic.twitter.com/Pq5rBJVjeR

— John Hawes (@Hawestradamus) November 30, 2025

But I suspect the truth is the above attitude is shared by maybe 15% of loyal Razorback fans. Then there's 15% of fans who feel the UA administration absolutely knows what they're doing most of the time.

Most folks, and that'd be the largest group at 70% if you're following my math, land in the middle.

They wish the second coming of Frank Broyles would walk through the door but remain hopeful the new guy will get the job done.

All Hog fans wish Arkansas could hire Lane Kiffin, who left the consistent winning program he built at Ole Miss, for greener pastures at LSU, where he has a legitimate chance to win a national championship year in, year out.

Mississippi State fans hold signs referencing Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s impending departure during Friday's game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss. Ole Miss defeated Mississippi State 38-19 in the Egg Bowl. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Here's the questions Razorback rooters are dealing with:

• Can Silverfield lead Arkansas to glory?
• To a national championship?
• To the College Football Playoff?
• Or would you settle for 8-4 and above .500 in the SEC most seasons?

High-octane offense should still be in Hogs' DNA

Hog fans have become accustomed to watching a productive offense during Pittman's tenure, especially the last two seasons with Petrino calling the plays.

Based on Silverfield's time with the Tigers, Arkansas fans should continue to enjoy offensive fireworks.

All six of Silverfield’s Memphis teams scored more than 30 points a game. Even better, his team is one of only five to be in the top 20 in scoring the last three season.

Who were the others? Powerhouses Notre Dame, Oregon and Ole Miss, plus Texas State.

Money matters: Is Hogs' NIL pile big enough to win?

My sense is Silverfield will bring a disciplined, upbeat culture to the program. Lifeblood of the program, of course, is recruiting.

And recruiting is based on money more than ever. Yurachek talked big about providing resources to make Silverfield competitive with the rest of the SEC.

“It became clear during our conversations that Coach Silverfield shares our vision of making the College Football Playoffs and competing for a national championship,” Yurachek said.

“With our new and significant financial investment in the football program, we are confident we now have the coach and resources to make that happen."

Unless he's been given a huge check by Walmart, Tyson or some other fatcat, I don't believe the Hogs and Silverfield will be operating with the same budget as their well-heeled, elite SEC brethren.

Hunter Yurachek needs to give Ryan Silverfield some version of a money tree if the Hogs are going to win big. | Daily News and Wicked Local Staff Photo/John Walker / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nope, unless the folks who control NIL money at Arkansas open the books, I'll never believe Silverfield, or the next Hogs coach, is operating with the same bank account as Georgia, Texas A&M, Texas, or even Ole Miss.

To win at Arkansas, as Pittman knows all too well, Silverfield will have to do it with a bit of smoke and mirrors, a lot of luck, and by never, ever losing the turnover battle.

So, for the sake of all Hog fans, let's hope Silverfield turns out to be as great as Memphis ribs and Beale Street blues. Then he just might be the answer to Arkansas' football woes.