Don't Call It a Rebuild: Silverfield Borrows From Nutt’s '98 Razorbacks Playbook

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — After a disastrous 2025 season, Arkansas Razorback football is turning the page with a near-total overhaul of the coaching staff and roster.

Coach Ryan Silverfield may have found an ingredient in the secret sauce to the glorious 1998 season.

That 9-win affair is tops for a rookie head coach. Houston Nutt was tasked with cleaning up the mess left by Danny Ford, who was fired by then athletics director Frank Broyles after back-to-back 4-7 seasons.

Silverfield comes in as successor to Sam Pittman, who posted stacked a pair of 7-6 records in 2022 and 2024 only to go 4-8 and 2-3 upon his firing after a 56-13 beatdown by Notre Dame. There's almost no difference between what Ford and Pittman left their successors.

Both teams were picked to finish last in the SEC going into the year, although the Hogs were projected last in the SEC West in '98.

Lunsford already sees Silverfield’s culture of accountability, toughness on display through three days of fall camp. #wps https://t.co/Mkjyfsfl4o
— Arkansas Razorbacks on SI (@RazorbacksOnSI) August 8, 2026

Don't Say It!

Silverfield has banned anyone in the program from calling his inaugural effort a "rebuild." This was originally a practice started by none other than former offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth in a personal appeal to Nutt.

The Hogs Plus documentary Resurgence details that historic 1998 season, including interviews from the people who lived it. Let's compare these eras through quotes about the approaches by these coaching staffs.

"He says, 'I wish you wouldn't use the word 'rebuild' ever," Nutt said. "We'll do anything. We've been through a lot.' That sent a message to me that he wants to win. From that moment on, I was locked into Brandon Burlsworth."

Silverfield, similarly, told the media that he is not presiding over a rebuild during his preseason camp availability. Sharing something with the late, Great Burlsworth is sure to endear Silverfield to fans. But it's on the field where he wants it to show.

"It's not a rebuild. We're coming right now," Silverfield said. "The expectation in year one is to get better every single day. Can we be the best in the country at the controllables?"

This simple message should allow Razorback football fans to breathe. This coaching change may not be the national disaster it's been made out to be in the media.

"He was a builder of young men," says Grant Garrett, center for the Hogs from 1994-98. "He taught us how to be the right kind of men. If Houston hadn't come in 1998, would we have ever gotten there? That '98 season was a hell of a run: a total resurgence of Razorback football."

Does He Have The Horses?

To build a winner at Arkansas, Silverfield will need to create havoc like hard-hitting safety Kenoy Kennedy in '98. Quincy Rhodes Jr. seems up to the task. Silverfield might have his Cedric Cobbs in Braylen Russell. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chris Marshall look like Anthony Lucas housing a play-action pass.

"When I walked into that building in December of '97, I saw a group of young men who had been beaten down, but they had character," Nutt said. "They had worked hard under Danny Ford, but they needed a spark. They needed to believe again."

Of course, both teams are looking for the juice to get over the hump in a notoriously difficult conference, as well as division for the '98 team. Silverfield seems to have the leadership skills to give his guys more juice in pivotal moments.

One goal met for Razorback Football’s “ALL IN” fund, now looking to go higher. #wps https://t.co/gyHx18h1d0
— Arkansas Razorbacks on SI (@RazorbacksOnSI) August 8, 2026

"I've never been prouder of a Razorback team than I was tonight!" Nutt shouted after capturing a share of the SEC West title. "You showed character! A lot of people want to quit, an average team wants to quit, but you got heart! You're together, you got character, and you're going wherever you want to go!"

Of course, that team started 8-0 and finished 9-3, and finished the season ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll, the Razorbacks' highest finish since 1989. While that marked a change for the football team on the field, it also marked a change for the field itself.

Razorback Stadium was renovated on the team's early success under Nutt. The program's ALL IN Fund through the Razorback Foundation recently upped its fundraising goal to $50M after it raised $25M in less than 10 months.

We may not see a historic run from Silverfield in his debut season. But it sure does feel like the Hogs are due.

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