Is Arkansas' Silverfield Better Option in SEC Than Golesh, Sumrall?

Razorbacks' new coach has upper hand on old rivals following him to SEC

Former South Florida Bulls coach Alex Golesh greets former Memphis Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield after a game at Camping World Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Most college football fans will look down the list of new coaching hires and check off which teams made the biggest splashes of the carousel.

That's quite a statement:

Lane Kiffin at LSU, check.
Pete Golding at Ole Miss, check.
Matt Campbell at Penn State, check.
Kyle Whittingham at Michigan, check.
James Franklin at Penn State, check.
Bob Chesney at UCLA, check.
Jon Sumrall at Florida, check.
Alex Golesh at Auburn, check.

Then, Ryan Silverfield's hiring at Arkansas after going 29-9 over the previous three seasons should've helped him rank among the top 10 to 15 coaches hired in the carousel.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield “Calls the Hogs” during the second half against the James Madison Dukes at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 103-74. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

That ended up not being the case as CBS Sports labeled his tenure as one that "could crash and burn quickly" on Friday. The author cautioned Florida fans to let things stew a year or two under Sumrall.

For Auburn's Golesh, Crawford shared optimism to the Tigers in the "intriguing despite challenges" category.

ESPN wasn't a believer in Arkansas' hiring of Silverfield either as they ranked him No. 26 behind several Group of Five hires at USF, Oregon State, Missouri State, James Madison, Washington State, Toledo, Kent State, Colorado State, and even his old stomping grounds at Memphis.

The Case for Silverfield

There's reason to believe Silverfield can get things turned around at Arkansas quickly given his motivation to succeed as a coach.

During his time in the American Conference, he was quite successful against fellow league coaches who graduated to the SEC.

Silverfield recorded a 7-1 mark against the likes of Golesh and Sumrall over the years, which Cole Thompson of SEC Unfiltered believes Arkansas' first-year coach deserves quite a bit more credit going into the offseason.

“He’s 7-1 against Alex Golesh and Jon Sumrall … that’s gotta mean something.”@MrColeThompson on why Arkansas’ hiring of Ryan Silverfield deserves more love than it’s gotten to this point 🗣️👀

Presented by @Underdog pic.twitter.com/mkLnwhb70d

— SEC Unfiltered (@SECUnfiltered) January 23, 2026

"Ryan Silverfield is 3-0 against Alex Golesh," Thompson said. "He is 7-1 against Golesh and Jon Sumrall. He's actually a pretty decent coach, but Sumrall actually took a team to the College Football Playoff.

"Silverfield was in the running for that spot, he was. Memphis was supposed to be in the playoff when they beat Arkansas. Everyone started leaning toward Memphis before they shot themselves in the foot."

The Tigers were certainly in the race as the premier Group of Five program in 2025, but something changed after a bye week when Memphis fell to a UAB led by then interim coach Alex Mortenson.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield in first day on the job at the Smith Center in Fayetteville, Ark. | Arkansas Communications

Memphis reclaimed its favor a couple of weeks later during a fourth quarter comeback against No. 18 USF, 34-31. The good vibes didn't last long as the Tigers lost its final three regular season games before Silverfield decided to stroll down Interstate 40 and head west to Fayetteville.

"Silverfield beat Golesh every single year, including this year when he had a very, very good South Florida team," Thompson said. "I'm sorry, but that's got to mean something."

Outpacing Old Rivals

When it comes to rebuilding his Arkansas program, Silverfield is lapping his old American Conference rivals with the No. 9 portal class, according to On3's transfer rankings. The Razorbacks needed to flip a roster that was desperately short on SEC-level defensive talent while also addressing needs on offense.

Arkansas will bring back just one defensive back from last year's roster in veteran safety Miguel Mitchell. The same can be said for the interior defensive line as David Oke is the lone defensive tackle to announce his return for 2026.

Former 4-star Reginald Vaughn played sparingly as a freshman in 2025, playing in two games while recording two tackles and one tackle for loss. While Vaughn hasn't announced a return, he is expected to be back next season.

Defensive line coach Marion Hobby added veteran defensive tackle Hunter Osborne (Virginia) along with Carlon Jones (USC), Xadavien Sims (Oregon), and Trajan Odom (Ohio State) as promising young options.

Former Tulane Green Wave coach Jon Sumrall, left, talks with former Memphis Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield before the start of the game at Yulman Stadium. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Silverfield knew the defense he inherited was in disarray upon his arrival and made sure to address that first with 27 total transfers, including 16 with Power Four experience.

Sumrall is on pace for a rebound year at Florida with his transfer haul ranked No. 12 in On3's portal rankings.

Golesh hasn't received the same luxury as his Tigers lost a lot of key pieces such as Cam Coleman, Eric Singleton, Deuce Knight, Xavier Chaplin and many others which has the Tigers ranked No. 65 nationally.

If Silverfield ends up the wrong hire, Arkansas continues its fall quietly into the cellar. If he is the right hire, then the coaching carousel might have missed the best coach in it.