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New Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield knows he's facing an uphill battle in Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks have reached just one bowl game in the last three years, and they're coming off a 2-10 campaign that saw former coach Sam Pittman relieved of his duties. Arkansas has only won more than seven games in a season once since 2015, a span that has included three coaching staffs.
Silverfield, formerly the head coach at Memphis, is embracing these challenges.
"We're fighting those battles every single day," Silverfield said at SEC Media Days Thursday, per ESPN's David Hale. "We're not the past. I think the players that we've retained and the few staff members we retained are saying, 'Oh, this is very different.' It's not rah-rah and sunshine and rainbows every day, but we're working in the right direction."
He didn't mince words about the state of the program he inherited, however. He pointed to an anecdote from his introductory press conference, when he realized everything from the lighting to the style in the team facility was stuck in the past. He said changing such things is important as the Razorbacks look to escape a "loser mentality."
"We're changing out every light bulb in the building," Silverfield said. "It was so dark and dreary -- like, how do you get motivated? You walk the hallway and everything is trash. The stairs -- nothing's been painted in there. The lights don't work. You walk in the weight room and the weights are 26 years old. I said, 'No. No wonder there's a loser mentality.' ... You're not talking Division III. This is the SEC."
Silverfield was 50-25 in six full seasons at Memphis, winning double-digit games in 2023 and 2024. Arkansas has been stuck in the basement of the SEC for a few years now, but Silverfield is looking to change that.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: New coach Ryan Silverfield battling 'loser mentality' at Arkansas
Continue reading...
The Razorbacks have reached just one bowl game in the last three years, and they're coming off a 2-10 campaign that saw former coach Sam Pittman relieved of his duties. Arkansas has only won more than seven games in a season once since 2015, a span that has included three coaching staffs.
Silverfield, formerly the head coach at Memphis, is embracing these challenges.
"We're fighting those battles every single day," Silverfield said at SEC Media Days Thursday, per ESPN's David Hale. "We're not the past. I think the players that we've retained and the few staff members we retained are saying, 'Oh, this is very different.' It's not rah-rah and sunshine and rainbows every day, but we're working in the right direction."
He didn't mince words about the state of the program he inherited, however. He pointed to an anecdote from his introductory press conference, when he realized everything from the lighting to the style in the team facility was stuck in the past. He said changing such things is important as the Razorbacks look to escape a "loser mentality."
"We're changing out every light bulb in the building," Silverfield said. "It was so dark and dreary -- like, how do you get motivated? You walk the hallway and everything is trash. The stairs -- nothing's been painted in there. The lights don't work. You walk in the weight room and the weights are 26 years old. I said, 'No. No wonder there's a loser mentality.' ... You're not talking Division III. This is the SEC."
Silverfield was 50-25 in six full seasons at Memphis, winning double-digit games in 2023 and 2024. Arkansas has been stuck in the basement of the SEC for a few years now, but Silverfield is looking to change that.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: New coach Ryan Silverfield battling 'loser mentality' at Arkansas
Continue reading...
