Ryan Silverfield isn’t interested in selling Arkansas fans on patience.
After back-to-back blowout losses to No. 15 Utah and No.
2 Georgia, the Razorbacks are dealing with another wave of frustration from a fan base that has already grown restless with the state of the football program and athletic director Hunter Yurachek. But on Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference, Silverfield made clear he wasn’t offering excuses or a rebuild speech.
“I have no doubt, absolutely no doubt in my mind that we will get this program back to where it needs to be,” Silverfield said. “Is it going to happen overnight?
I'm not sure. We're certainly working our tails off to get it there.
I appreciate the [fans] who show up, who cheer loudly and proudly for the Razorbacks. We love our fans and we're grateful for that.
"I'm not asking for time. I'm just telling [them] that we will get this thing done.
We will continue to improve and do it the right way and try and set this thing up for long-term success year in and year out over time. We're going to continue to work for alignment for everyone that's involved with this football program."
The comments came only hours after Brett McMurphy of On3 published an interview with Yurachek, who said he wished he had hired a general manager for Arkansas’ football program sooner.
“I understand the fan frustration and the spotlight on football,” Yurachek said. “I am frustrated as well, but at the same time, I think any fair evaluation has to include what is actually happening inside the program."
Yurachek also said Arkansas had not done enough to show fans the “work inside the building.” That message landed poorly with a fan base already angry over what it sees as a mismatch between the promises made in December and the program’s actual spending in the NIL era. Yurachek said Arkansas would be in the middle of the SEC financially, but a report from The Athletic said the Razorbacks spent the least on their roster of any conference team.
The interview with McMurphy may have marked a turning point for Yurachek, at least in the eyes of the fan base. The frustration around Arkansas football is broad, and while not every loss can be pinned directly on the athletic director, some of his decisions have clearly complicated the program’s effort to get back on track.
Arkansas will try to get back to .500 when it hosts Tulsa at 7 p.m. Saturday at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
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