Arkansas reportedly hiring former Division I head coach as special teams coordinator
New Arkansas Razorbacks head football coach Ryan Silverfield‘s staff is coming together as reports have surfaced throughout the weekend that he has made multiple hires.
Per those reports, Silverfield is bringing offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey and wide receivers coach Larry Smith over from Memphis, along with Ron Roberts as defensive coordinator. Roberts, who now has Arkansas listed in his X bio, was previously defensive coordinator at Baylor and Auburn, among others.
According to a report from CBS Sports, the Hogs are in the process of hiring former Georgia Southern head coach Chad Lunsford as special teams coordinator. Lunsford has been around the college game for three decades and most recently served as special teams coordinator at Auburn.
In 2025, Auburn ranked third in the SEC with 23 yards per kickoff return, headlined by Rayshawn Pleasant who had the league’s longest return of 98 yards and the only touchdown scored in the conference via a kickoff return. Lunsford was a Broyles Award nominee in 2016 while serving as Georgia Southern’s STC and his kicker, Younghoe Koo, was a Lou Groza Award finalist.
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Additionally, Silverfield is also reportedly adding Florida State running backs coach/recruiting coordinator David Johnson, who briefly coached at Memphis with Silverfield and has SEC experience, along with analyst Nick Matthews who worked with quarterbacks under Silverfield at Memphis.
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