Murphy Being Mentioned for Job at Hawaii

University of Hawaii Athletic Director Stan Sheriff said Tuesday that Cal State Fullerton football Coach Gene Murphy will be considered as a successor to departed Hawaii Coach Dick Tomey, who has been named coach at Arizona.

But Murphy, reached on a recruiting trip in Northern California, said that he hadn’t been contacted about the job, adding, “I don’t intend to hear anything.”

Murphy and Sheriff have a friendship that goes back to the early 1960s, when Sheriff was the football coach at Northern Iowa and Murphy was a graduate assistant coach at North Dakota. Last season, Sheriff’s son, Rich, was a reserve quarterback for Murphy at Fullerton. The relationship between Murphy and Sheriff sparked quick speculation that Murphy would be a logical candidate to succeed Tomey.

Murphy, a finalist for the Washington State job that was given to former Wyoming Coach Dennis Erickson last week, took the same position he has taken when his name has been mentioned for coaching openings in the past. “I’m interested in talking to them, as always,” he said.

But since the end of the 1986 season, in which Fullerton finished 3-9, Murphy has maintained that the Titans’ record would preclude him from being a strong candidate for any major college coaching vacancies. He reiterated that claim when asked about the Hawaii job and his relationship with Sheriff.

“We have a good friendship,” he said, “but sometimes intelligence transcends friendship.”

Murphy was named the West Coast Coach of the Year after guiding the Titans to an 11-1 record in 1984, and found himself in big demand. He was a leading candidate for jobs at Utah, Oregon State and Missouri. Missouri was the job he wanted, and sources there said he was the first choice of Tiger Athletic Director Dave Hart.

Murphy turned down an offer from Utah and withdrew his name from consideration at Oregon State, hoping to land the Missouri job, but the Tigers hired Woody Widenhofer, a former Missouri player and coach of the USFL’s Oklahoma Outlaws. Last season, Missouri was 3-8 under Widenhofer, including a 77-0 loss to Oklahoma.

Tomey had a 63-46-3 record in 10 seasons at Hawaii. He succeeds Larry Smith, who left Arizona to become the coach at USC. Sheriff said he hopes to find a replacement for him within the next 10 to 15 days. “If it goes more than two weeks, it’s detrimental to this year’s recruiting class,” he said. “I think we’ve missed the boat if it goes farther than that.”

Bob Wagner, defensive coordinator at Hawaii and an assistant to Tomey for 10 years, is reportedly the man Tomey will recommend for the job. Former USC Coach Ted Tollner is also believed to be interested, as is Jim Lambright, defensive coordinator at Washington.

“A number of people have already contacted us, plus we’ll go out and contact some people we’re interested in,” Sheriff said. “As with any major college coaching position, there’s a tremendous amount of interest, even though it’s late.” Asked if Murphy would be one of the coaches he would contact, Sheriff declined to comment. He did say, however, that Murphy merited consideration.

“Gene has not contacted me,” Sheriff said. “(But) I’m certainly well aware of his credentials and his abilities. He’s a good friend, and he’s certainly in my thoughts.”