Murphy Is a ‘Serious Candidate’ : College football: Titan coach is given an interview for the vacant head coaching position at San Jose State.

After spending Sunday afternoon in an interview with Cal State Fullerton football Coach Gene Murphy for the San Jose State head coaching job, Spartan Athletic Director Tom Brennan described Murphy as “a serious candidate” for the position.

Brennan declined to say whether Murphy was a finalist for the job, which opened when Terry Shea resigned Thursday to become offensive coordinator at Stanford.

“But I would say anyone who’s been on campus to visit, we have a serious interest in,” Brennan said. “Gene Murphy is a quality guy and a quality football coach. I’m happy he was interested in coming to see me.”

Murphy, who was a finalist for the San Jose State job in 1990, could not be reached for comment Sunday. Brennan said that, in addition to his interview with Murphy, the 12-year Titan coach met with several members of the school administration and various campus officials.

Brennan reportedly wanted to narrow his list of candidates to three or four by today, and said he hopes to make a decision by the end of this week.

He declined to say how many coaches would be interviewed on campus, but at least three others besides Murphy, Utah offensive coordinator Rick Rasnick, former Stanford offensive coordinator Ron Turner and New Mexico offensive coordinator Dave Kragthorpe, have emerged as strong candidates.

Rasnick spent nine years (1982-90) as a San Jose State assistant before moving to Utah and was also a finalist for the Spartan opening in 1990. Turner reportedly was one of two finalists for the Stanford head coaching position until Bill Walsh, former San Francisco 49er coach, took the job last week.

Kragthorpe was the Pacific 10 coach of the year at Oregon State in 1988 before he was fired in 1989 and moved to New Mexico.

California offensive coordinator Steve Mariucci, who was expected to be a strong candidate, withdrew his name from consideration. Mariucci, the Fullerton quarterbacks coach under Murphy from 1980-82, accepted a job as quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers Sunday.

Murphy, who is entering the final year of a three-year contract that pays $80,000 to $85,000 a year, has a 57-80-1 career record at Fullerton since 1980. He previously spent 16 years at North Dakota, the last two as head coach.

The Titans, competitive in their conference for much of the 1980s, underwent severe budget cuts late in the decade and slipped to 1-11 in 1990. And a January, 1991 crisis, in which the program was nearly dropped, has further clouded Fullerton’s future in Division I-A.

The Titans went 2-9 this past season, but Brennan said Fullerton’s recent records were easy to overlook.

“It’s not a real important consideration, because Gene Murphy has proven he can win,” Brennan said. “We’re looking for someone who can coach from the offensive side, and he’s proven that.

“He’s held in high regard by his peers, and something that impressed me is his commitment to and enthusiasm for college athletics and student-athletes. I’m also impressed with the loyalty he shows to the schools he’s worked for.”