There’s not a lot to get excited about in the immediate future for Arkansas football, which is exactly why the offseason imagination is already starting to run wild. One of the more eye-catching ideas floating around is this: could Ryan Silverfield bring Mike Norvell to Fayetteville as his offensive coordinator?
The conversation opened up after Florida State fired Norvell on Sunday, ending his run in Tallahassee after three straight seasons of regression. That move naturally sent people looking for the next landing spot, even if the idea sounds far-fetched at first glance.
The connection to Silverfield is obvious. Silverfield took over a Memphis program that Norvell had helped turn into a regular American Conference contender in 2020, and Silverfield worked as an assistant under Norvell at Memphis from 2016-19.
Arkansas’ offense has given fans plenty of reasons to be restless. It was quiet again Saturday against Missouri, and while it showed some life against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, Tim Cramsey’s group has mostly been rough this season.
Cramsey, who followed Silverfield to Arkansas after serving as his OC at Memphis from 2022-25, made sense as a hire because quarterback AJ Hill, wide receiver Jamari Hawkins and running back Sutton Smith came along too. But the results have not been good enough.
He called a strong game against Vanderbilt, yet the offense faded again against Missouri and has struggled for much of the year.
Norvell’s background makes him an intriguing possibility if Arkansas decides to shake things up. He has worked as an offensive assistant at Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State, then went on to head coaching jobs at Memphis and Florida State. And the money piece matters too: with Florida State owing him $50.3 million, a major pay cut would not be a huge obstacle for the 45-year-old.
It sounds bold, but Arkansas has already shown it is willing to think outside the box. Sam Pittman bringing back Bobby Petrino as OC in 2023 is proof enough that stranger things have happened.
Norvell also has Arkansas ties beyond the coaching tree. He played wide receiver at Central Arkansas in Conway from 2001-05 and spent 2006 there as a graduate assistant.
Even with those connections, his Florida State ending makes it tough to picture a Power Four school with a head coaching opening making a strong run at him. If Silverfield does decide to make an OC change after one season, the choice would be his. And with fans frustrated and a new athletic director possibly in place, a splashy hire may be the kind of move that gives the program some real momentum heading into Year 2.
That is where Norvell fits. He brings name recognition, a track record, and a past relationship with Silverfield. In other words, he would be the kind of coordinator hire that gets people talking immediately.
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For a program that has spent much of the last decade trying to claw its way back toward respectability, Saturday felt like a reminder of how fragile progress can be. Arkansas had shown signs of life before the bye week, enough to make it seem as if the season might be bending in a better direction, but a 34-10 home loss to Missouri pulled the Razorbacks back into the same old conversation about inconsistency and missed chances.
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Drinkwitz Twists The Knife After Another Painful Arkansas Loss
Missouris latest win over Arkansas came with the kind of postgame edge that tends to linger in a rivalry. Eli Drinkwitz pointed out that since 2023, Missouri has more SEC wins in Razorback Stadium than Arkansas does, a barb that landed especially hard after another lopsided finish for the home team. He also made sure to note the significance of the rivalry trophy, while giving credit to the stadium improvements around the programs home field.
For Arkansas, the sting was not just in the final result but in how the game unraveled after halftime, when Missouri pulled away and the Razorbacks were outscored badly in the second half. In a rivalry where every detail gets remembered, Drinkwitzs comments only added another layer to a loss that already felt familiar and frustrating for Arkansas fans. [Read more 🡒]