After Sam Pittman became the Arkansas Razorbacks’ head coach in 2020, they enjoyed three seasons where they were above .500 and made bowl games.
But it wasn’t enough. Arkansas started 2025 with a 2-3 overall record. That included a one-point loss at Memphis and a 56-13 defeat against Notre Dame.
That was enough for Arkansas to fire Pittman. The Razorbacks promoted Bobby Petrino to interim head coach, but he likely hasn’t done enough to keep the job long-term.
Here are four Group of Five head coaches who are rising stars in the profession and could be considered for Arkansas’ head coaching vacancy:
USF Head Coach Alex Golesh
Not only has Golesh led the Bulls to two bowl wins in his first two full seasons at USF, he’s helped the program rise to prominence in the Group of Five. USF was in the Associated Press Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings before losing to Navy.
Golesh’s first few seasons as a collegiate head coach have been an overall triumph. But he was successful as an assistant before that as well.
He was previously an offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Tennessee from 2021-22. His last season there, the Volunteers were first in the country in scoring with 43.3 points per game.
He was a co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at UCF in 2020. Before that, he was a tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Iowa State from 2016-19.
That was after he spent four years at Illinois in a variety of roles, including running backs coach, tight ends coach, and recruiting coordinator. He’s also coached tight ends and was a recruiting coordinator at Toledo from 2009-11.
He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Ohio State, as a student assistant from 2004-05. He was also a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois (2006-07) and Oklahoma State (2008).
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Tulane Head Coach Jon Sumrall
Sumrall is one of the top coaches in the Group of Five right now.
After he replaced Willie Fritz as Tulane’s head coach, Sumrall led the Green Wave to a 9-5 overall record and an AAC Championship appearance in 2024.
And in 2025, Tulane (9-2, 6-1 American) is one of the best teams in the G5 once again. With two Power Four wins on their resume, the Green Wave are the top-ranked G5 team by the CFP Selection Committee.
Sumrall certainly has the background to be worthy of a Power Four head coaching job.
Sumrall was the head coach at Troy for only two years before going to Tulane, but he certainly made a difference. He led the Trojans to Sun Belt Championships in both of those seasons.
Sumrall, who played football at Kentucky and is from Huntsville, Alabama, led Troy to a 23-4 overall record from 2022-23.
Defense is Sumrall’s specialty, and during those two years, Troy ranked among the Sun Belt’s top three teams in total defense and scoring defense. In 2023, the Trojans allowed the 10th-fewest points per game in the FBS (17.15) and the 15th-fewest yards per game (306.5).
He also had prior experience at Tulane. He was the team’s co-defensive coordinator from 2012-14.
Sumrall was Kentucky’s co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach before becoming the head coach at Troy. He was also a linebackers coach at Ole Miss (2018), an assistant head coach and linebackers coach at Troy (2015-17), and an assistant at San Diego (2007-11).
Memphis Head Coach Ryan Silverfield
After the success Memphis enjoyed with Mike Norvell as the team’s head coach before he went to Florida State, Ryan Silverfield has kept the Tigers playing at a high level.
Since Silverfield became the head coach going into 2020, the Tigers haven’t suffered a losing season. They went 11-2 overall and 6-2 in AAC play in 2024, concluding the season with a win over West Virginia in the Frisco Bowl.
This year, Memphis (8-3) was among the G5 frontrunners to make it to the CFP until they lost to Tulane.
Silverfield has coached at five Division I schools and with three NFL teams.
He began his coaching career at the high school level with his alma mater, The Bolles School, in 1999 as an assistant. He then went to another alma mater of his, Hampden-Sydney College, and worked with players on both sides of the ball.
He returned to the high school level to be Memorial Day’s head coach in Savannah, Georgia, before going to Jacksonville University to be a quarterbacks coach in 2005. He was a graduate assistant on offense and defense at UCF after that.
In 2008, he went to the pro level, becoming an offensive quality control staff member and defensive line staff assistant for the Minnesota Vikings. In 2011, he was a Vikings assistant offensive line coach.
In 2014, he went back to the collegiate ranks to become an offensive consultant at Toledo. He was a senior offensive analyst for Arizona State and assistant offensive line coach for the Detroit Lions in 2015.
He’s been at Memphis since 2016, where he’s been an offensive line coach, a run game coordinator, an assistant head coach, and a deputy head coach.
North Texas Head Coach Eric Morris
Morris clearly knows the offensive side of the ball, as evidenced by his resume and what he’s done in his time at North Texas.
This year, the Mean Green are 10-1 overall and 6-1 against American Conference teams with a chance to win a league championship and appear in the College Football Playoff. Going into Week 13, the Mean Green led the country with 45.3 points per game as UNT QB Drew Mestemaker was fifth in the nation with 3,000 passing yards.
During Morris’ career, he’s also worked with QBs like Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, and Cam Ward.
He was previously a head coach at Incarnate Word from 2018-21. He was also at Texas Tech from 2013-17, where he spent time as an offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. He played wideout for the Red Raiders in the 2000s and was an all-Big 12 punt returner.
He began his collegiate coaching career at Houston as a quality control coach in 2010 and a graduate assistant in 2011.
Before going to UNT, Morris was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Washington State in 2022. He was also an inside wide receivers coach at WSU in 2012.
