Arkansas' first-year coach says structure, consistency are foundational in building a winner in Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There's something about high achievers in life that makes them different than the Average Joe. While coaches are ultimately judged by their success on Saturdays, winning starts long before the opening snap of a season.
Oftentimes, knowing what's expected from a person in the professional setting offers them an opportunity to thrive. Structure always helps set standards and makes it much easier to build a culture after years of inconsistencies.
That mindset helped Silverfield compile a 50-25 record in six seasons at Memphis and ultimately earned him an opportunity to coach in the SEC. That time spent across the Mississippi River, he found out exactly what it took to be successful every single day which is taking pride in being steady, predictable and consistent. Ryan Silverfield believes consistency is one of the biggest reasons he’s able to perform at a high level.
He’s a creature of habit and structures everything, from his workouts to his daily schedule and how the football program operates. During an interview with CBS Sports' Adam Breneman earlier this offseason, Arkansas' first-year coach detailed that his success wasn't built on motivational speeches or emotional highs, but actually rooted in a clear structure, daily habits and routines. That philosophy nearly mirrors one of college football's most recognizable coaching ideologies.
Most fans will recognize it immediately due to similarities between Silverfield and legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban.. It was such a key factor to his career that many journalists were enamored by it to the point he was examined endlessly. Saban built a dynasty off "The Process" that players were so detailed and focused entirely on executing the next play rather than becoming consumed by the scoreboard or results of the play after.
"We decided to use the approach that we are not going to focus on the outcome. We were just going to focus on the process of what it took to play the best football you could play, which was to focus on that particular play as if it had a history and life of its own. ”For those who give the new Arkansas coach grief over his "ALL IN" phrase, Saban even had one himself.
Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban at SEC Media Days in 2022. | Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports The coach who was ruthless about the process of winning seven national championships was also the same man always focused on what happens now. That's Saban for you, and Silverfield has that same quality about him.
"You got to be very structured," SIlverfield said. "I hear it all the time, my wife tells me 'You do so much better when you know what time you're supposed to wake up,' and and I think that's so true. I'm I'm a creature of habit.
"I'm going to wake up. I'm going to get a run in. I'm gonna do my run, no more, no less than three miles. I'm gonna do that, right?
Calm down from my sweat, do some work, right? Meet with the staff, and then have that gameplan.
" Most teams are a reflection of their coach and Silverfield prioritizes structure and discipline, which helped him in his early Division III days, time as an NFL assistant and being named head coach for Memphis without any FBS coordinator experience. Every morning begins with a three-mile run, and he doesn't take shortcuts. He doesn't dip out of workouts and carries that into his office where he carefully scripts out practices, recruiting and other duties out months at a time.
Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield at spring practice. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images "What it looks like for the day, and it's a detailed calendar, and trying to stay within that process of what that looks like, and go to sleep.
Then, wash, rinse and repeat day after day after day, almost 365 days out of the year. So, you try to find ways to get into routines, to get in those habits, because you can't let things deter you.
"Even during the season, one of the things that's helped just to keep me in a continuous train of thought is the way I want to go about things as we as we progress. That kind of puts me in a mind frame of consistency.
"Jacob Davis is the Publisher for Arkansas Razorbacks on SI, with a decade of experience covering college athletics. He has previously worked at Rivals, Saturday Down South, SB Nation and hosted podcasts with Bleav Podcast Network where his show was a finalist for podcast of the year.
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