This Time, Murphy May Say Goodby

You can tell by the couch in the Cal State Fullerton Football House that it’s almost time for Gene Murphy to go.

On that couch, sawing logs alongside the game films and the playbooks, is Jim Chaney, who coaches Cal State Fullerton wide receivers and coordinates Titan recruiting. Chaney recently sold his Montclair condo and thought about moving into an apartment until Gene Murphy Across America got cranked up again.

Murphy to Las Vegas. Murphy to Utah. Murphy to Fresno State. With the rumors flying, Chaney decided it best to shack up in the coaches’ shack until Murphy lands somewhere.

No sense moving twice.

Around the Fullerton athletic department, the joke is that Christmas shopping for Murphy should be easy this year. Just get him a red coat. That way, Murphy could pick any campus he likes--UNLV, Utah or Fresno--and not clash with the school colors.

Murphy has an interview lined up next week in Las Vegas. He has already met with Utah athletic director Chris Hill. And Fresno expects to have a head coaching vacancy if and when Jim Sweeney departs for the Phoenix Cardinals.

Murphy’s chances?

At UNLV, he is officially one of six finalists but, in truth, he’s probably reached the championship round. UNLV’s 17-member selection committee is impressed with the job Murphy has done with Cal State Fullerton resources--you can find better resources on most Las Vegas casino tables--but also likes Houston offensive coordinator John Jenkins. Jenkins choreographed the run-and-shoot attack that brought Andre Ware the Heisman and the very thought of Runnin’ Rebel football excites many along the Strip.

Utah offered Murphy its head coaching job in 1984, when Murphy bypassed the Utes and Oregon State to hold out for the Missouri plum that eventually went to Woody Widenhofer. Five years later, Utah has another opening and another opportunity to finally get its man.

The Fresno State situation is more complicated, but if Sweeney leaves for the NFL, and if Murphy is still available, look for the Red Wave to come rolling into Fullerton for a successor.

Murphy, 50 and a Titan since 1980, admits to being restless.

“God, I want to win again--big time,” Murphy recently told The Times’ Robyn Norwood. “That’s the only thing. There’s nothing wrong with being here; everybody has their problems to different degrees. . . .

“(But) we were so close the last two years and just didn’t do it.”

And last year, the Titans didn’t do it despite the presence of the school’s all-time leading passer (Dan Speltz), the school’s all-time leading receiver (Rocky Palamara) and the nation’s second-leading rusher (Mike Pringle).

Next year, all will be gone, along with just about everyone else.

In 1989, Fullerton amassed 4,488 yards in total offense, with passes by Speltz and runs by Pringle accounting for 4,398 yards of it. That’s 98% of the Titan offense, flushed out of Fullerton, just like that.

In 1990, Deon Thomas will be the Titans’ leading returning rusher. He had 101 yards in 24 carries. Paul Schulte will be the top returning quarterback. He completed two of three passes for 24 yards. In all, only four full-time starters will return and only one--guard Shannon Illingworth--plays offense.

And guess where they get to play?

At Auburn. At Mississippi State. At Hawaii.

Body-bag games, Murphy calls them. Bounty bowls. Killings-for-hire, where the gate receipts and the victory margins are usually large and guaranteed.

Remember these golden oldies from 1987? LSU 56, Fullerton 12. Florida 65, Fullerton 0. Hawaii 44, Fullerton 0.

Murphy can be excused for wishing not to limp through that again.

And, what challenges remain for Murphy at Fullerton? He already has won a conference championship and been to the California Bowl. He already has gone undefeated, if you include the Las Vegas forfeiture that turned 1984 into a 12-0 season.

In 10 years, Murphy has accomplished the previously unthinkable: building a winning football program at Cal State Apathy, where there is no home stadium, no fans and no money. Before Murphy, Fullerton’s most recent winning season had been 1973, when the Titans played Division II football. Since 1983, Murphy has had one .500 season and four winning seasons, including this year’s 6-4-1 finish.

Fullerton officials will no doubt appeal to Murphy’s loyalty and note the blueprints for the 13,000-seat, $10.6-million on-campus football facility--a.k.a. the Titans’ Holy Grail. Murphy’s loyalty is a surer thing than the stadium; he once spent 14 years as an assistant at North Dakota--or about as long as Fullerton has been talking about a stadium.

Latest word now is that ground breaking is finally set for next spring, with the first kickoff scheduled for 1992. Of course, six months ago, that kickoff was scheduled for 1991.

A decade of scrounging in the shadow of USC and UCLA is long enough. Any longer and you risk decay. Remember what happened to Bobby Dye when he said no to Purdue?

Five years ago, Murphy said no to Utah and Oregon State. Now, he’s faced with that rarest of prospects, a second chance.

If the offer does come, don’t expect any misdirection from Murphy this time around. If the offer comes, color Murphy gone.

Or red.