Former UM coach takes post at Harvard

BOSTON – Tim Murphy, taking a pay cut to join the Ivy League, was hired as Harvard’s football coach Monday.

Murphy coached Cincinnati the past five years and replaces Joe Restic, who retired after 23 years as coach of the Crimson.

He signed a five-year contract with Harvard for about $75,000 a season. His base salary at Cincinnati was a reported $111,996.

“The reason I coach is the reason most guys play in the Ivy League – for the love of the game,” Murphy said at a news conference. “I just felt Harvard was a unique opportunity that wasn’t going to come along again for another 20 years.”

Murphy, 37, left a Division I-A job at Cincinnati for a Division I-AA team in his home state.

He had just completed an 8-3 season at Cincinnati, its best record since 1976 and first winning record since 1982. He had losing records in the previous four years, winning just one game in each of his first two seasons. Murphy’s overall record with the Bearcats was 17-37-1.

Murphy had spent two seasons as coach at Maine, where, at age 30, he became the youngest Division I-AA coach in 1987. The Black Bears were 8-4 and 7-4 under Murphy and tied for the Yankee Conference title in his first season.

“It was awfully hard,” Murphy said of leaving Cincinnati. “But in some ways, emotionally, I was like one of the graduating seniors. We’d accomplished what exactly we were hired to do.”

Bill Cleary, Harvard athletic director, joined Murphy at the school’s Dillon Field House across the river from the Cambridge campus. Clear said his department had to go through a learning process in hiring a new coach because of Restic’s reign.

“I hope it will be another 23 years before we have to look for a new coach,” Cleary said.

He completed an outstanding career as a linebacker for Springfield College in 1977 then was offensive line coach at Brown in 1979 and 1980. Murphy coached the defensive line at Lafayette the next season, then was offensive line coach at Boston University from 1982 to 1984.

He spent the next two seasons as offensive coordinator at Maine before taking over from Buddy Teevens as head coach.

Under Restic, Harvard’s winningest football coach, the Crimson were 117-97-6. But they went 3-7 this season and shared last place in the league. Harvard’s last winning season – and last Ivy championship – came in 1987.

“Tim believes in the Harvard philosophy, and realizes that athletics are part of the total experience here,” Cleary said.

Murphy said he will talk with the Harvard assistant coaches before deciding on changes. He may hire some of his assistants from Cincinnati.