FAYETTEVILLE — There's not much to look forward to in the immediate future in regard to Arkansas football, so why not have some fan and look into a funhouse mirror version of next season?

Florida State fired head coach Mike Norvell on Sunday, heeding a call from a frustrated fan base that had grown tired of Norvell after three straight seasons of regression from the Seminoles.

Norvell's dismissal begs the question — however outlandish it may seem in the present — of whether or not he could reunite with Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield in Fayetteville.

After all, it was Silverfield who took over a Memphis program Norvell helped build into a perennial American conference contender in 2020. It was under Norvell from 2016-19 that Silverfield was an assistant for the Tigers.

Arkansas' offense was anemic again on Saturday against Missouri, and while it appeared to find its legs against Tennessee and Vanderbilt, Tim Cramsey's unit has by and large been quite bad this season.

It's understandable why Silverfield opted to bring Cramsey, who served as his OC at Memphis from 2022-25, with him to Arkansas, especially given that QB AJ Hill, WR Jamari Hawkins and RB Sutton Smith also followed. So far, however, Cramsey hasn't proven that he has the chops to put together a gameplan that can consistently win games in the SEC. He called a good game against Vanderbilt, but the offense sputtered again against Missouri and has done so for most of the season.

Norvell has been around the block as an offensive assistant, making stops at Tulsa, Pittsburgh and Arizona State before becoming the head coach at Memphis and Florida State. Given that FSU owes Norvell $50.3 million, it's not as if a substantial pay cut would be a huge deterrent for the 45-year-old, either.

Sure, it may seem crazy right now, but who would've thought Sam Pittman would've brought back Bobby Petrino to serve as OC in 2023? Crazier things have happened in recent years.

Norvell also has ties to the state of Arkansas. He played wide receiver at Central Arkansas in Conway from 2001-05 and spent 2006 as a graduate assistant at UCA.

After the way Norvell's tenure at Florida State ended, it's hard to see any Power Four teams who will have head coaching vacancies at season's end making a huge push for the Irving, Texas, native. Should Silverfield make a change at OC after just one season, the ball will be in his court if he wants to go after Norvell.

Given how frustrated fans are and the fact that a new athletic director could be at the helm of the UA athletic department, it may take a flashy OC hire for Silverfield to generate some momentum this offseason and provide fans with some substantive hope for Year 2.

Norvell, who carries big-time name recognition, results and a prior relationship with Silverfield with him, would be the textbook definition of a splash coordinator hire.

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