Ryan Silverfield became the 25th head coach in Memphis football history in December 2019 and began his tenure by leading the Tigers into their first major bowl game appearance: the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas.

In naming Silverfield, the Tigers hired from within. Silverfield served as deputy head coach and offensive line coach during the 2019 season as the Tigers won their first outright conference title in 50 years. Memphis won the 2019 American Athletic Conference championship with a 29-24 win over Cincinnati at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Silverfield also was part of Memphis staffs that led the program to three-straight American Athletic Conference West Division crowns from 2017-19 and four-straight bowl appearances from 2016-19. Behind Silverfield’s contributions, Memphis won 38 games during those four seasons, including going 10-3 in 2017 and 12-1 in 2019. He is the only member of the staff to be part of both 10-plus win seasons.

In 2021, Silverfield led the Tigers to the program’s eighth-straight bowl game, extending the longest bowl streak of any non-Power 5 team in the country. Memphis was named EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl Champions after Hawai’i was unable to participate.

Silverfield’s 14 wins in his first two seasons at the helm of the Tigers are tied for the second-most in program history and also rank him tied for fifth for most victories among all FBS second-year head coaches.

Individually, true freshman quarterback Seth Henigan had a record-breaking season, earning FWAA Freshman All-America honors. The Denton, Texas native completed 235-of-393 passes for 3,322 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 3,322 passing yards shattered the school's freshman record previously held by Paxton Lynch in 2013 (2056) and rank sixth overall on the program's single-season list. His 25 touchdowns are tied for the seventh-most in school history.

Wide receiver Calvin Austin III was unanimously chosen by the AAC coaches to the first team, one of just three players to be unanimously selected. Joining Austin III on the All-AAC First Team are tight end Sean Dykes, offensive lineman Dylan Parham and linebacker JJ Russell. The four first-team honorees are the most for Memphis since the program had six in 2017. Earning second-team all-conference accolades for the Tigers are defensive lineman John Tate IV and defensive back Quindell Johnson.

In his first full season at the helm of the program in 2020, Silverfield led the Tigers to the team’s first bowl victory since 2014, a 25-10 win over Florida Atlantic in the Montgomery Bowl, becoming the first head coach in school history to win a bowl game in his first year.