Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield (right) speaks with Arkansas coach Sam Pittman prior to a game Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (Hank Layton/WholeHogSports) Let us read it for you. Listen now. Your browser does not support the audio element.
FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas will reportedly hire Memphis' Ryan Silverfield as its next football coach, ending a two-month search that began when Sam Pittman was fired Sept. 28.
One week before Pittman was fired, Silverfield's team rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Arkansas 32-31 in Memphis.
Citing sources, Yahoo Sports reported Sunday that Silverfield had informed Memphis officials he was accepting the job at Arkansas. ESPN and On3 also reported the Razorbacks plan to name him head coach.
The news of Silverfield's hiring came four days after reports linked South Florida coach Alex Golesh to the Arkansas job. Golesh said those reports were false Saturday night following the Bulls' 52-3 win over Rice.
On Sunday, multiple outlets reported Golesh would accept the head coaching position at Auburn.
Silverfield, 45, has a record of 50-25 in his seventh season as the Tigers' head coach, including 8-4 this season. Memphis ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak, with losses of 38-32 to Tulane, 31-27 to East Carolina and 28-17 to Navy.
Silverfield became one of the hot names in this year's coaching carousel after Memphis started the season with a 6-0 record and reached No. 22 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. At one time the Tigers were thought to be the top contender for the playoff spot that is held for teams from non-power conferences.
That ended when Memphis was upset 31-24 at UAB on Oct. 18 in the Blazers' first game coached by interim Alex Mortensen, a former Arkansas quarterback. The Tigers defeated South Florida and Rice to improve to 8-1 before the losing streak to end the season.
Silverfield became the Memphis head coach after the 2019 regular season when Mike Norvell was hired away by Florida State. The Tigers posted records of 8-3, 6-6 and 7-6 in Silverfield's first three seasons, then broke through with consecutive double-digit win totals in 2023 and 2024.
Memphis went 10-3 and won the Liberty Bowl over Iowa State in 2023 and finished last season with an 11-2 record and Frisco Bowl victory over West Virginia. Memphis was ranked No. 23 in the final AP poll of 2024.
Silverfield was the offensive line coach on Norvell's staff at Memphis from 2016-19. He added running game coordinator duties in 2017.
Silverfield bounced around high school and small college jobs from 1999-2004. He was the quarterbacks coach at Jacksonville in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision in 2005 and a graduate assistant at UCF from 2006-07.
The Minnesota Vikings hired Silverfield as an offensive quality control coach in 2008. He also worked in assistant roles with the defensive line and offensive line through 2013 in Minnesota.
Silverfield was an offensive consultant at Toledo in 2014 and an assistant offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions in 2015.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Silverfield attended Hampden-Sydney College and did not play college football.
At Arkansas, Silverfield will attempt to overcome the notion that Memphis coaches struggle to win at the Power 4 level. Justin Fuente went 43-31 in six seasons at Virginia Tech after he was hired away from Memphis in 2015, and Norvell has a 38-34 record in six seasons at Florida State, including back-to-back losing seasons.