Arkansas hires Ryan Silverfield from Memphis as new coach after 2-10 season

By Canadian Press on November 30, 2025.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas hired Ryan Silverfield away from Memphis as the Razorbacks’ new coach Sunday after a miserable 2-10 season.

The Razorbacks announced Silverfield as their 35th head coach with athletic director Hunter Yurachek saying Silverfield’s ability to win games over a sustained period separated him from the pack as the right choice.

Silverfield is 50-25 in six seasons at Memphis, and he was at his best going 10-3 in 2023 and 11-2 in 2024. The Tigers were ranked as high as No. 22 this season before finishing 8-4. He also went 4-0 in bowl games, not counting the Cotton Bowl in December 2019 that Silverfield coached after Mike Norvell left for Florida State.

Memphis athletic director Ed Scott thanked Silverfield and wished him the best in his next chapter. The Tigers named Reggie Howard as interim coach with a national search for Silverfield’s replacement under way.

Arkansas lost at home 31-17 to Missouri on Saturday to cap a season that included an 0-8 record against Southeastern Conference opponents for the third time since 2018. Bobby Petrino, a former Razorbacks head coach from 2008-11, didn’t win a game since stepping in as interim coach when Sam Pittman was fired Sept. 28.

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The Associated Press