FAYETTEVILLE -- Ryan Silverfield flew into Fayetteville with high hopes on Sunday as the 35th head football coach in University of Arkansas history.
Silverfield, 45, will be tasked with reversing the fortunes of a program that finished in last place in the 16-team SEC with a 2-10 record and an 0-8 mark in conference play. He will try to become the first Arkansas coach since Bobby Petrino, who just completed an 0-7 stint as the interim coach, to finish with a winning record.
Silverfield agreed to a 5-year contract valued at $33.5 million, or $6.7 million per season, to lead the Razorbacks.
Silverfield is coming off a 50-25 stint at Memphis, where he guided the Tigers to bowl games each of his six seasons to extend the program's streak to 12 consecutive berths.
Prior to flying from Memphis to Fayetteville with UA Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek, Silverfield recorded a 12-second video in which he introduced himself to the "Razorback Nation" and said he couldn't wait to get to Fayetteville.
"We're going to bring a lot of success to the Hogs that's so well-deserved," he added. "Can't wait to see you. Go Hogs."
The official release from the UA announcing Silverfield's hiring included remarks from Yurachek that Razorback fans are keen to see come to fruition after the program fell behind in the realm of name, image and likeness.
"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," Yurachek said in the release.
Silverfield's hiring came with detractors, many of whom voiced their displeasure with Yurachek on social media. A small group of about 30 showed up outside the Jones Center on campus to protest with signs that included "Fire Yurachek," "Keep Bobby" and "God Save Arkansas."
A 21-year-old student from Little Rock, who wore a paper bag over his face with holes in the front, said the issue most in his craw was "the way the administration has not listened to the fans for so long now, and the fact that since around 2011, when I was in elementary (school) then, I haven't seen us have a great, successful run of a multiple-year good football program because we just can't get it together."
The student said his protest was "less about the coaching hire and more about the fact that we know that there's not going to be the amount of resources that we need put in to compete. We're in a new era of the NIL and if there's not enough money to compete in the SEC, then why are we in the SEC?"
The student said he preferred to keep Petrino, a "proven great coach," and added he would love to see Silverfield succeed with the resources he needs.
Bert Mayo of Fayetteville, also in attendance, said the state of the program is what brought him to the protest.
"You've got to wonder where we stand going forward," Mayo said, adding he felt the hiring of Silverfield was underwhelming.
"We go from hoping for maybe a sitting Power Four coach to a coach who lost his last three games, I believe, and hasn't won his conference championship yet or played in his conference championship game. It seems a bit underwhelming for sure."
Silverfield was among four "hot name" American Conference coaches hired by Power Four programs in the last week, joining North Texas' Eric Morris at Oklahoma State, South Florida's Alex Golesh at Auburn and Tulane's Jon Sumrall at Florida. Golesh and Morris were involved deep into the coaching search by Yurachek.
Silverfield had a 5-1 record against those coaches: 3-0 versus Golesh, 2-0 versus Morris and 0-1 against Sumrall, a 38-32 loss in Memphis on Nov. 7.
Memphis got off to an 8-1 start this season that included a 32-31, come-from-behind victory over Arkansas and a 34-31 win over then-No. 18 South Florida. The Tigers had the nation's longest streak of scoring 20-plus points in a game at 51 prior to its loss to Navy last week.
Silverfield was working under a contract he signed after the 2023 season that paid him $2.25 million this year, plus a few incentives, with a $1.5 million buyout through the end of the year.
Silverfield is the third consecutive Memphis coach to move on to a more lucrative power conference job. His two predecessors, Justin Fuente and former Central Arkansas player and graduate assistant Mike Norvell, have not enjoyed tremendous track records.
Fuente was 26-24 at Memphis (2012-15) before succeeding Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and posting a 43-31 record over six seasons. That stint included a 35-24 victory over Arkansas in the 2016 Belk Bowl after the Hokies trailed 24-0 at halftime.
Norvell went 38-15 with the Tigers from 2016-19 before replacing Willie Taggart at Florida State. Norvell has a 38-34 record with the Seminoles; they are 7-17 since he led the program to an undefeated regular season and a 13-1 record in 2023.
Silverfield's last three Memphis teams had a combined record of 29-9 to rank among the top 15 in the country in victories during that span. He extended Memphis' bowl streak to 12 seasons this year, the most among non-Power Four programs, and he is 4-1 in bowl games with a four-game winning streak.
His Memphis teams peaked in 2023-24 with a combined 21-5 record. The 2023 team went 10-3 and defeated Iowa State 36-26 in the Liberty Bowl. The Tigers were 11-2 the following season, including a 20-12 victory at Florida State and a 42-37 victory over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl.
Silverfield's resume includes seven seasons in the NFL -- six with the Minnesota Vikings and a partial season with the Detroit Lions -- before he joined Norvell's staff at Memphis as offensive line coach for 2016. He served under Norvell for three more seasons, including as assistant head coach in 2019, before taking the heading coaching reins for 2020.