Murphy closes historic spell at Harvard
The standard Tim Murphy set for Harvard football did not change over the course of his 30 years. He left as he entered: a harddriving coach demanding excellence.
Occasionally, however, he did allow himself to float.
Celebrating a big win in the locker room, Murphy would turn his hat backward, run toward his waiting players, jump off a chair “and crowd-surf,” recalled former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, Murphy’s most well-known player. “That was only coming out once a year: the Ivy clinching game, or we just beat Yale.”
Murphy, who retired Wednesday, gave the Crimson more of those moments than was thought possible. He spent 37 years as a college head coach, including stops at Maine (two years) and Cincinnati (five). His run at Harvard, which began in 1994, is unparalleled.
They went unbeaten in 2001 (9-0), 2004 (10-0), and 2014 (10-0), making Murphy the first Ivy League coach since the conference’s founding in 1956 to have three unbeaten and untied seasons.
They finished 8-2 (5-2 Ivy) in Murphy’s final season, beating Penn in triple overtime for the conference crown. It was his 10th Ivy League title, tying him with Carm Cozza (Yale) for the most in league history.
“Harvard University has been a very special place for my family and me,” Murphy said in the press release announcing his decision. “I am graduating from a profession that has not only been my job, but other than my family and close friends, it has been my passion and my life for the past 45 years.”
Murphy, who grew up in Kingston, finished 200-89 at Harvard, with a 141-65 record in Ivy League play. He went 19-10 in “The Game” against Yale. He was named New England Coach of the Year eight times and was a five-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award as top FCS coach.
“Harvard has 150 years of football history,” athletics director Erin McDermott said, “and Tim Murphy led the most successful era of its entirety.”
The school said a “national search” for
his successor was underway.
After he broke Cozza’s Ivy record for wins (179) with a rout of Brown in 2021 — a home opener that came after 22 months off during the pandemic — Murphy refused to take credit. It was a team record.
Tight ends were a specialty for Murphy, whose NFL alums include Cam Brate, Anthony Firkser and Kyle Juszczyk, as well as Tyler Ott (who became a long snapper). Linebackers like Isaiah Kacyvenski and offensive linemen like Matt Birk shined in the pros. Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, Texans DC Matt Burke and longtime NFL coach Joe Philbin are in Murphy’s coaching tree.
He also produced the youngest general manager in NFL history — and called it well before it happened.
Fitzpatrick recalled Murphy predicting that specific future for Andrew Berry during his years as an All-Ivy cornerback (2006-08).Berry was 32 when the Cleveland Browns appointed him GM in 2020.
“He would talk about adversity to the point where if players were imitating Murph, they’d always say something about adversity,” Berry said. “But it was true. He made things physically demanding and mentally demanding . . . and then you’d go to class. If you graduated from that school and went through that program, you were used to challenges.”
Murphy played at Silver Lake Regional with future Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens (both Class of ’74). The two were best friends, colleagues and opponents for 55 years, until Teevens, 66, died in September.
Murphy went to Springfield, where he played linebacker. Teevens went to Dartmouth, where he was Ivy Player of the Year in 1978 as a quarterback. Murphy started as a Brown assistant before reuniting with Teevens as Boston University assistants. When Teevens took over at Maine, Murphy was his offensive coordinator. Murphy succeeded Teevens at Maine, moved to Cincinnati and followed Joe Restic at Harvard in 1994.
Birk, a six-time Pro Bowl center with the Vikings, was part of that debut recruiting class.
“You could just tell: the guy was maniacal about everything,” Birk, who retired a Super Bowl champion with the Ravens in 2012, recalled of the 37-year-old coach. “He was focused. He was serious. It wasn’t a ton of fun, so to speak. You didn’t get any attaboys for just showing up.”
But it built a program. Before Murphy, the Crimson had not produced a nine-win season since 1919. By his fourth season, the program went 9-1 and won the 1997 Ivy League title. And Birk and a teammate scored a surprise invite to the coach’s house for Easter dinner.
“Nobody was going to the NFL from the Ivy League when I was going there,” Birk said. “Now they’re pulling kids away from Power 5 schools.”
Murphy’s manner — termed “the Massachusetts, blue-collar, [expletive]-’em kind of attitude,” by former captain Collin Zych — helped him connect. Berry, a former high school quarterback, appreciated Murphy’s honesty on the recruiting trail. He wanted him as a defensive back, but told him he could play QB as long as he wished. Murphy waited until the player realized what was best.
“I always kid people, I’m not sure I’m good at much, but I’m good about people,” Murphy said in 2021.
His people echoed that.
“It’s not just the fact that Harvard football players were able to see and find a path to the NFL,” said Fitzpatrick, now an NFL analyst for Amazon Prime. “It’s the 30-plus kids that he affected in every class he brought in, and changed the trajectory of their lives. That’s the most important part of his legacy. The lesson he taught us each and every single day by being a good human and being consistent.”
Since retiring in 2022, Fitzpatrick has reconnected with Murphy at alumni events. It has heightened his appreciation for the man.
“He deeply cares about all the players, and not just while they’re in his program,” Fitzpatrick said. “He goes to these events and remembers everybody, little bits and pieces about your life or little stories about recruiting. If you think about all the people he’s come in contact with, it’s pretty incredible.”
What’s next? Family time, for starters. Birk suggested that he owes his wife a few nice dinners. And, Berry added, “a vacation, well-earned.” Then maybe fishing, maybe golf, maybe consulting.
“Sometimes, at the end of your career someone will ask, ‘Do you have any regrets?’ Murphy is quoted in the release. “And my simple answer is no, because in any endeavor, any relationship, if you give it absolutely everything you have, there can be no regrets.”