Prized $12 million college football coach surges as favorite to be named Arkansas HC

Arkansas remains in the hunt to find a qualified replacement for Sam Pittman to become its next head football coach, and one of the most credible candidates could be someone who already beat the Razorbacks on the field this season.

One of the losses that led to Pittman’s dismissal from the program came early on when Memphis upset the Hogs by one point back in September, and now the coach who led that charge appears to be on the top of the leader board to take his old job.

Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield is a sizable favorite to become the next coach at Arkansas, with 35 percent odds to take the position, according to the latest figures from the prediction market Kalshi.

Silverfield’s odds have nearly doubled in just the past day, signaling major betting interest in his being a credible option to land at the school, at the same time the chances for the second-leading option, North Texas coach Eric Morris, have fallen to 19 percent.

What Silverfield has done at Memphis

Early on, you could be forgiven for overlooking Silverfield’s accomplishments at the Group of Five program.

He barely scratched the surface above .500 in his first three full seasons as head coach, going 21-15, but in the last three years has helped propel Memphis into the national spotlight.

Silverfield won double-digit games over the next two seasons and went 12-4 in conference play with two bowl victories, and is 8-3 heading into this weekend.

That pedigree took a little hit in recent weeks, as Memphis has lost its last two games and three of the last five, adding some turmoil into a season that seemed destined to contend for an American title.

Overall, the 45-year-old coach is 50-24 with a 27-20 league record.

A coach who adapts to modern needs

Silverfield has impressed observers with an ability to adapt to the demands of modern college football, signing important transfer players and adjusting his on-field strategy to fit the players he attracts to the program.

Those are key traits needed for an Arkansas program that routinely undergoes considerable roster turnover and wants to get aggressive in the NIL game.

Arkansas oversees some of the most active transfer movements not only in the SEC, but in the country, with more than two-dozen players going into the portal every year, one of the pressures that ultimately doomed Pittman’s management of the program.

Arkansas has real potential

Despite being a mid-level program with little national championship success, the Razorbacks’ placement in the SEC and the presence of some very prominent financial boosters in the state still make this a quality destination.

College football analyst Josh Pate outlined just how lucrative it could be.

“The Arkansas job could be a rocket ship if the J.B. Hunts, and the Tysons, and the Walmarts are on board, and that means fully infusing the program with cash. That’s what it means to be on board there,” Pate said recently.

The catch? With that investment comes oversight.

“The downside to big money investing in your program, and therefore wanting some input in your program, is, 99 times out of 100, the big money did not make their money by coaching football,” he said.

“They didn’t make it by coaching offensive line, and yet they want input on people who are going to do such things. I would imagine that the search at Arkansas is operating under those kinds of parameters, where you’re asking for big money to be involved and big money wants a say in who’s going to get hired there.”

Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas? The coach would be a good fit — Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Is he a realistic option for Arkansas?

The exact progress made in Arkansas’ search for Sam Pittman’s replacement remains an open question, but Silverfield has apparently expressed some kind of interest in the position, according to a report from Best of Arkansas Sports.

Hiring a name like Silverfield feels like a very low-risk, and potentially high-reward move for the Razorbacks.

He may not be a national name that would make a splash or would win the proverbial press conference, but his consistent success and proven ability to build something and make improvements over time is noteworthy.

Silverfield has put his team in several bowl games and has kept it competitive, but has also lost a few games recently that he shouldn’t have, particularly a result against UAB that confounded analysts and did damage to the Tigers’ conference hopes.

Arkansas needs stability and consistency, and Silverfield does offer both, but the question remains as to whether sustained success in the Group of Five would translate to a program playing against SEC heavyweights almost every week.

But his expertise at crafting successful offenses, recruiting prowess, and ability to improve his roster in the transfer portal, combined with the help he could get from some Arkansas boosters with deep pockets, make him a persuasive candidate.

All odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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