Arkansas shifts gears from Alex Golesh, now reportedly set to hire new head coach
By David Wasson
Published:
Clearly not wanting to get lost in 2025’s Great College Football Coaching Carousel, the Arkansas Razorbacks are now reportedly set to hire their replacement for Sam Pittman.
Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield emerged Sunday as the leading candidate for the Arkansas opening, with reports saying he has informed the Tigers that he is departing for Fayetteville.
Silverfield has gone 50-25 in his 6-plus years at the helm in Memphis, including an 8-4 season in 2025. The Tigers put together back-to-back double-digit win totals in 2023 and 2024 – as the 2023 Memphis squad went 10-3 and the 2024 Tigers unit went 11-2.
Silverfield, 45, has also coached Memphis to 4 straight bowl game victories (2020 Montgomery Bowl, 2022 First Responder Bowl, 2023 Liberty Bowl and 2024 Frisco Bowl).
Arkansas appeared set to hire USF coach Alex Golesh over the weekend, but Golesh has since been hired as the new head coach at rival Auburn.
The Razorbacks fired Pittman on Sept. 28, the day after Arkansas endured a 56-13 blowout home loss to Notre Dame. Pittman went 32-34 overall in Fayetteville and 14-29 in the SEC, though he did lead the Hogs to 3 bowl victories in his 6 seasons at the helm.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
