NFL
By: Randall Slifer
The Arkansas Football program lost another winnable game last week against Auburn. The Arkansas Razorbacks signed Ryan Silverfield for the culture he brings and his ability to close out games in the 2nd half. Before Arkansas, his Power Four record was impressive and suggested he could handle the move to the SEC. A quote from Silverfield after the Auburn loss: “I learned a long time ago that close does not matter except for horseshoes and hand grenades… but it does when you go back and watch, you’re saying, man, we were that close, right.” So, does it matter? No, it does not. End of story, Ryan.
It is not a conclusion that Ryan Silverfield can’t handle the Arkansas football head-coaching job. He also didn’t prove a single thing about his ability to handle the job, either. He has won only one Power Five game this year, and that will almost certainly be the final tally. Personally, Vanderbilt doesn’t count as a positive on Ryan Silverfield’s resume.
The Tennessee game was the worst possible outcome. It gave Arkansans something to be excited for, only to lose because of coaching decisions. Georgia treated the Arkansas matchup as a practice. Texas A&M took a steep drop this year and smoked Arkansas by 27 points. It was a downpour in Fayetteville against Missouri, and the home team dropped 5 catches and turned the ball over 4 times, while Missouri turned it over only once. The final nail in the coffin was blowing a first-half lead to Auburn.
This season has been filled with parity, though. Auburn, the team we blew a first-half lead on, beat the championship favorites, Georgia. UCF took down BYU in double overtime. Florida took down Texas. Tennessee was Arkansas’ opportunity to be a part of the parity. Ryan Silverfield could not get it done.
Silverfield is losing commits, and it’s due to his decision-making. 3-star running back Jeremiah Dent decommitted because of his overzealous running back-by-committee approach. 4-star Darion Moseley decommitted after Arkansas was embarrassed by BYU. Ryan Silverfield’s first year in Arkansas is having a ripple effect into the future.
How does Ryan Silverfield convince Arkansans that he is worthy of the job in the future? There was concern about the hire because he adopted Norvell’s program and had a head start in Memphis. That may be true based on what Arkansans saw this year, but that does not make Silverfield a bad coach. He later had success in the program and maintained a good record throughout his Memphis tenure.
There is constant talk about Hunter Yurachek and his termination as the athletic director. That will likely stay strong until the time comes. Early in the season, Ryan Silverfield deserved all the grace he got. Hunter Yurachek indeed lied about how much the football team would spend. He said Arkansas would be in the middle of the pack, only to be last in spending in the SEC. Ryan Silverfield was promised more money, but he didn’t receive enough to build a winning team.
The program will change if Hunter Yurachek gets fired or finds a way to fund the Arkansas Football program more appropriately. Hunter Yurachek needs to stop relying on Arkansans to front the money. He needs to do his job and get Walmart to donate more money to the football program, while Walmart focuses on track and field.
Either way, Ryan Silverfield does need more money. He lobbied and raised funds for this upcoming year, so it will be interesting to see how much the 2027 team costs versus the 2026 team. If he does not find a viable quarterback for 2027, the team is dead to rights in week 0. If he keeps Tim Cramsey for next year, the team is dead to rights in week 0. He is walking a tightrope with impatient Razorback fans, and the lights are not cutting it.
The final three games of the season are South Carolina, Texas, and LSU. Does any Razorback fan think they will pull out a final win? I would think not. There was hope versus Tennessee, and a punt ripped it away. It seems too late for it to have any significant impact on the program’s outlook. I will be attending the final two home games with a primary focus on food. Razorback fans have moved on to Basketball and are looking forward to Baseball. Silverfield may get a small golf clap if he beats either team.
The icing on the cake was that Ryan Silverfield was asked about the College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams. He said that with the expansion, “That needs to be the goal for this football program to be in the discussion every time there is playoff talk.” WHAT ARE WE DOING? Is it delusion? Is he generalizing what discussion means? “Hey Committee, should we talk about Arkansas Football?” “No.” That’s a conversation, I guess.
If Hunter Yurachek remains Athletic Director, then Ryan Silverfield needs to stop skipping steps and build a team accordingly. Roberts has a good defensive scheme, and he can make a group of guys work. If Quarterback isn’t his number 1 focus this off-season, I would expect him to be fired at the end of the season. He doesn’t need to make an expensive decision; he needs to make the right decision. Trinidad Chambliss was the backup for Austin Simmons at Ole Miss until he got his shot. He was a D2 quarterback for Ferris State (a great program) whom the offensive coordinator found.
Ryan Silverfield has no room for error next year. He needs to fight for a .500 season, and he needs to attain it. He will need a big win and to show he can build the culture Arkansas fans hoped for when they made the hire. Every Arkansas fan is looking back and wondering what it would be like if Hunter Yurachek had been patient and hired Alabama’s defensive coordinator, Kane Wommack. That feeling will not go away until Ryan Silverfield proves otherwise. Arkansans deserve better, and they deserve it quickly. As always, Go Razorbacks.
