Fayetteville High School head coach Casey Dick played quarterback at Arkansas in the early 2000s. He did not appreciate how his alma mater’s new head coach, Ryan Silverfield, approached recruiting.
The 39-year-old was forced to delete and apologize for a scathing post that banned him from the facility.
There is a precedent for this kind of thing in high school football. The former Razorbacks signal-caller is very lucky not to be fired for his behavior.
Fayetteville High School football coach Casey Dick is going to lose Hank Hendrix.
Dick was hired at Fayetteville High School in 2019. The campus is located exactly one mile from Donald W. Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium, home to the University of Arkansas football program. He was just a five minute’s drive from his alma mater during the entire tenure of Sam Pittman. They got along well.
Pittman was fired in September. Ryan Silverfield was hired from Memphis at the end of November.
Silverfield and Casey Dick did not get off on the right foot. The latter posted the following about the former on Saturday afternoon:
“Disappointed in my University’s approach to the recruiting process of a high school athlete. Situations like this are not good for high school athletics or the sport of football. Moving forward, Razorback football and Ryan Silverfield will not be welcome in our facilities.”
His frustration appeared to stem from the recruitment of Fayetteville quarterback Hank Hendrix. Hendrix was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2027. The No. 9-ranked signal-caller is now expected to reclassify to the Class of 2026 and enroll at Arkansas in May, as of Saturday morning. That would mean he will not play for Dick this fall if it comes to fruition. We’ll see.
Dick was not happy with Silverfield’s meddling, clearly. His initial post reflects his irritation.
Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield is no longer banned.
Somebody either got ahold of Casey Dick and told him to issue an apology or he came to his senses. He issued an apology on Saturday evening. He also overturned the ban of Ryan Silverfield. They are going to have a meeting together in the coming days.
“Regarding a post shared earlier today, I want to be clear that my responsibility as head coach is first and foremost to my student-athletes. My priority has and will always be to put these young men in the best position to succeed—both on the field and in life—and that commitment will never change.
“Earlier today, I reacted emotionally to information about decisions involving some of my players that I was not previously aware of. I take responsibility for addressing those feelings publicly and for any confusion that may have caused, and I look forward to our follow meeting with Coach Silverfield.
“I love this state and this school. My response was never rooted in resentment, but in a deep sense of responsibility to advocate for the young men I am entrusted to lead. I will continue to support the Fayetteville program and this community.
“We look forward to seeing more Purple Dogs become Hogs in the future.”
Dick is lucky to keep his job after all this. The entire situation bears a striking resemblance to what happened at Parkway High School in Bossier City, Louisiana in 2017.
Head coach David Feaster banned Nick Saban from recruiting at Parkway because he did not think Alabama was being “ethical.” Feaster was fired when the school principal found out about the ban. Oops.
Dick claims his response was “never rooted in resentment” and I want to believe him, but we all saw what happened. Super awkward.