Arkansas failed to win the press conference when they hired Ryan Silverfield in the offseason. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, they have only managed to win once on the field since tabbing the former Memphis head coach for the same position.
In fairness to Silverfield, he's only presided over the program for three games, and this was a dire situation in the wake of Bobby Petrino's departure. But the results have not given the team's passionate fan base a great deal of hope. The team opened their campaign with a lackluster win over FCS opponent North Alabama before back-to-back lopsided losses against Utah and Georgia.
Fan sentiment against Silverfield really kicked up this week after the lack of competitiveness in the home game against the Dawgs. Rational Razorback fans didn't necessarily to knock off Kirby Smart's squad, but they would have hoped to see signs of progress in Silverfield's program. Instead, the game served as a stark reminder of just how far Arkansas has to go before they're ready to compete against the SEC elite.
What is Ryan Silverfield's buyout at Arkansas?
Silverfield signed a five-year deal with Arkansas paying him an average of $6.7 million year on the back of his 50-25 record at Memphis. Officials in Fayetteville hoped his familiarity with the area and experience running a premier G6 program would allow him to make a quick transition to competitiveness in the SEC.
It would cost the University $23.4 million to part ways with Silverfield this season. On the surface, that seems like a heavy obligation for a coach who is only three games into his tenure. The SEC is not a league renowned for its patience, though, and that's even more true of an Arkansas program that has been starved of winning football for a lengthy period of time.
Would Arkansas fire Ryan Silverfield this year?
The recent news that Arkansas' Board has passed a resolution to "review" the football program is bad news for Silverfield's job security. The statement also pledged more resources, but it's easy to envision a scenario where they conclude Silverfield is not the right coach to work with those new resources.
Reading between the lines, it seems obvious that Arkansas intends to pump more money into their ability to recruit against their conference brethren after years of falling short. The Razorbacks suffered a significant talent disadvantage against both Utah and Georgia. The hope is that pushing their player acquisition budget into the top tier of the SEC might allow them to push their program back into the top 25.
Winning against Tulsa next week is crucial for Silverfield if he wants to hang on to his job. Even if he does manage to win the non-conference matchup, he still needs to show meaningful progress in his next two SEC games to get fans back on his side. The challenge there is that both Texas A&M and Tennessee project to be strong favorites against Arkansas. It's very possible that Silverfield's team will be underdogs in every game they play for the remainder of the year.
Finishing with two or even three wins will give Arkansas' administration enough justificant to fire him after just one season. Razorback fans looking for a sea change with their flagship program may not have to wait too long.
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