Arkansas named Memphis’ Ryan Silverfield as its 35th head coach in program history on Sunday.
Silverfield, 45, guided the Tigers to an 8-4 record this season and a 50-24 mark since replacing Mike Norvell as the team’s coach in December 2019. Norvell left for Florida State prior to the team’s game in the Cotton Bowl.
Arkansas posted a short video clip of Silverfield in Razorbacks gear to X on Sunday afternoon, in which the coach promised to bring “a lot of success to the Hogs.”
“It became clear during our conversations that Coach Silverfield shares our vision of making the College Football Playoffs and competing for a national championship,” athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement. “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. 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. His teams at Memphis have been consistent winners since he took over the program in 2019. The knowledge of our state and region he brings along with the ability to build and maintain a program will provide a great foundation for our program moving forward.”
The Razorbacks needed to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired on Sept. 28 — one day after the team dropped a 56-13 decision at home to Notre Dame. Bobby Petrino served as the interim head coach following Pittman’s departure.
Pittman was 32-34 overall with the Razorbacks.
Arkansas (2-10, 0-8 Southeastern Conference) dropped its 10th straight game on Saturday with a 31-17 setback to Missouri.
–Field Level Media
