Memphis is sticking with what’s working as they try to move on from the extremely successful Mike Norvell era in hopes of keeping the Tigers football renaissance going.
The school confirmed a number of reports on Friday evening, officially naming Ryan Silverfield as the team’s next head coach.
Opening statement from Coach Silverfield...
— Memphis Football (@MemphisFB) December 13, 2019
"It's a dream come true. This is my dream job. To be named the head coach of the University of Memphis, it's a dream come true. I'm honored and humbled. I'm appreciative. I can't wait. I'm so excited."#GoTigersGo
Silverfield, who was already set to coach the team in the Cotton Bowl, has been with the program for the past four seasons and served as deputy head coach and offensive line coach. The longtime assistant has had stops with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings at the pro level plus Arizona State and UCF in the college ranks.
While he likely would have made for a big name on the assistant coaching carousel had he not been retained, Silverfield was long considered the favorite to succeed Norvell when the time come due to his connections built up within the program. That much is evident now that there will be no interim tag at all for a guy who only has to face off against Penn State in his first official game in charge.
Either way, Silverfield’s status becoming official -- along with a similar situation occurring earlier in the day at Appalachian State -- leaves just three more openings left in the FBS ranks as the number of teams with out a head coach shrinks again on Friday.
