Arkansas hires Ryan Silverfield from Memphis as next head coach, report says

The Arkansas Razorbacks pulled the trigger on choosing their next head football coach Sunday after the team’s disastrous 2025 season ended with a 14-point loss to Missouri.

Arkansas has agreed to make Ryan Silverfield its next head coach, ESPN reported.

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Silverfield will come from the Memphis Tigers where he spent six years. He accepted the Memphis job before the 2020 season and led the Tigers to four bowl games, all of which he won.

The Tigers didn’t have a great year, but managed to win eight games and reach No. 22 in the top 25 of the Associated Press poll. He also guided the Tigers to two 10-win seasons – the most since Mike Norvell was Memphis’ head coach.

He will be tasked with trying to revitalize the Razorbacks.

Memphis Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield and defensive lineman Jalen Bell (93) run onto the field before the game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on October 4, 2025. (Wesley Hale/Imagn Images)

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Arkansas fired Sam Pittman after five games this season. The team replaced him with Bobby Petrino, but the Razorbacks did not win a game with him. Pittman was with Arkansas from 2020 to 2025. He had the school ranked eighth in the AP Poll in 2021 as they finished with nine wins. But the team went from there.

The Razorbacks haven’t won at least 10 games since 2011 under Petrino. But his tenure in Arkansas ended in scandal.

Memphis Tigers head coach Ryan Silverfield and linebacker DeMarco Ward (31) celebrate after a touchdown during the second half against the Chattanooga Mocs at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on August 30, 2025. (Wesley Hale/Imagn Images)

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Silverfield will be Arkansas’ fifth head coach since Petrino’s stint from 2008-11.