Ranking Ryan Silverfield Last Misses Mark in SEC Coaching List

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Every so-called ball knower is going to release some sort of college football power rankings this offseason.

But the one released Friday by The Next Round, out of the Yellowhammer state, is probably the most out of touch ranking of any.

First off, having Kalen DeBoer ranked this high after finally beating Oklahoma just to get demolished by Indiana in the Rose Bowl made no sense. It's always hard following a legend, and DeBoer has yet to live up to the lofty standards Nick Saban left behind.

Our SEC Coaching Rankings entering the 2026 season

How would you rank the 16 coaches? pic.twitter.com/IPHaBvJg32
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) April 17, 2026

Arguably the biggest snub of this list is having first year Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield ranked dead last even with his full body of work at Memphis. Even without at least a share of a conference title with the Tigers in six seasons, this take is still disingenuous.

If you take into account who he's beaten, record against power conference teams and being an assistant on winning teams for 19 consecutive seasons it shows winning is in Silverfield's DNA.

Coaches don't stop winning at any level. They adapt to who they have and win right away, and that's the exact approach Silverfield is taking at Arkansas.

This ranking has him behind one coach at Kentucky who has yet to call the shots for any program. Even if Will Stein has been properly developed under the likes of Jeff Traylor (UTSA) and Dann Lanning (Oregon), he still hasn't won a game on his own yet.

Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, the coach ranked at No. 14 is 1-15 against SEC teams in two seasons at the helm. The Bulldogs fell apart in multiple fourth quarters in 2025, including a massive collapse against Texas when State blew a 17-point lead in the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Shane Beamer has been as inconsistent as anyone in the country during his time at South Carolina. The Gamecocks have gone 7-6, 8-5, 5-7, 9-4, and 4-8, but he did hire an offensive coordinator with proven SEC play calling experience in Kendal Briles.

If Briles can turn LaNorris Sellers into KJ Jefferson 2.0, then he might save Beamer's bacon, but a 5-7 season could be enough to see his tenure come to an end.

There's also a great debate about how far apart Silverfield and former USF coach Alex Golesh are upon their promotion to the SEC. Most random accounts don't take into account someone's record against another coach and just rank based off vibe checks.

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

The truth is Silverfield touts a perfect 3-0 record against Golesh, and that includes a 34-31 victory last season when both teams were rumored to have comparable NIL budgets.

Wins against South Carolina and Auburn are no guarantee next season, but beating both teams certainly lifts Arkansas into its best case scenario for 2026.

When it comes to Jon Sumrall at Florida, there's not many coaches who have made the quick ascent to an SEC job quite like him except Urban Meyer. The former Gators' coach won big at Bowling Green in two seasons, and won a BCS bowl at Utah in his season before moving on to Florida in 2005.

Sumrall is a winner, but is still 1-1 against Silverfield during his two year stint at Tulane.

He did make the College Football Playoff and won the American Conference Championship, which is something Silverfield wasn't able to do at Memphis.

Pete Golding captured lightning in a bottle at Ole Miss with a run to the semifinals of the playoff after Lane Kiffin left for LSU. But his full body of work is going to be placed under a microscope this fall if he can't replicate the same results in 2026.

His playoff success alone is plenty reason to keep him at No. 10 even if there's doubt he'll be able to sustain Kiffin's success.

Damper the Morris Talk

Silverfield isn't a Chad Morris-level hire, and it's hard for most to wrap their head around because he has a two-word catch phrase. Go to your local pharmacy, ask for OTC magnesium citrate and cleanse that out of your system.

All coaches have a mantra inside their program that's considered the standard.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield during spring practice drills in Fayetteville, Ark. | Munir El-Khatib

What "all in" isn't is a "turn that jukebox on," "yessir," "full tilt boogie," "left lane, hammer down" junk to generate excitement. It's motivation to come together and with the mindset of doing everything the right way.

Silverfield deserves to hover around the No. 11-12 range at the very least until he proves otherwise. He's not an experimental hire nor one made out of desperation.

He's a coach who has a winning background and poised to change the culture at Arkansas.

Year 1 under Silverfield probably won't be an instant turnaround.

However, he has the opportunity to change the national perspective at Arkansas, which is first step in the whole process.

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