Tim Murphy
Tim Murphy went 232–134–1 as a head coach, 1987–2023, at Maine, Cincinnati and Harvard. Share
31 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1987–88 at Maine; 1994–2019, 2021–23 at Harvard. They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 232–134–1 career
- Seasons
- 36
- Schools
- 3
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Best season
- 1993 8–3
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Maine * | 8–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I-AA First Round L | 13 | |
| 1988 | Maine * | 7–4 | T–3rd | |||
| 1989 | Cincinnati | 1–9–1 | ||||
| 1990 | Cincinnati | 1–10 | ||||
| 1991 | Cincinnati | 4–7 | ||||
| 1992 | Cincinnati | 3–8 | ||||
| 1993 | Cincinnati | 8–3 | ||||
| 1994 | Harvard * | 4–6 | T–7th | |||
| 1995 | Harvard * | 2–8 | 8th | |||
| 1996 | Harvard * | 4–6 | T–6th | |||
| 1997 | Harvard * | 9–1 | 1st | |||
| 1998 | Harvard * | 4–6 | T–5th | |||
| 1999 | Harvard * | 5–5 | 5th | |||
| 2000 | Harvard * | 5–5 | T–3rd | |||
| 2001 | Harvard * | 9–0 | 1st | 19 | ||
| 2002 | Harvard * | 7–3 | 2nd | |||
| 2003 | Harvard * | 7–3 | T–2nd | |||
| 2004 | Harvard * | 10–0 | 1st | 13 | ||
| 2005 | Harvard * | 7–3 | T–2nd | |||
| 2006 | Harvard * | 7–3 | 3rd | |||
| 2007 | Harvard * | 8–2 | 1st | 21 | ||
| 2008 | Harvard * | 9–1 | T–1st | 15 | ||
| 2009 | Harvard * | 7–3 | 2nd | |||
| 2010 | Harvard * | 7–3 | T–2nd | |||
| 2011 | Harvard * | 9–1 | 1st | 16 | ||
| 2012 | Harvard * | 8–2 | 2nd | |||
| 2013 | Harvard * | 9–1 | T–1st | |||
| 2014 | Harvard * | 10–0 | 1st | 15 | ||
| 2015 | Harvard * | 9–1 | T–1st | 20 | ||
| 2016 | Harvard * | 7–3 | 3rd | |||
| 2017 | Harvard * | 5–5 | T–5th | |||
| 2018 | Harvard * | 6–4 | 3rd | |||
| 2019 | Harvard * | 4–6 | T–6th | |||
| 2020: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 2021 | Harvard * | 8–2 | 3rd | |||
| 2022 | Harvard * | 6–4 | 4th | |||
| 2023 | Harvard * | 8–2 | T–1st | |||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against ranked teams | 9 | 0–9 | 0% |
| Against top-10 teams | 4 | 0–4 | 0% |
| Against rivals | 14 | 4–10 | 29% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 18 | 7–10–1 | 42% |
| At home | 23 | 10–12–1 | 46% |
| On the road | 32 | 7–25 | 22% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 11 | 7–4 | 64% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 44 | 10–33–1 | 24% |
His own 55 games on file, 1989–1993, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Schnellenberger 1989–1992 | 1–3 | Louisville | 4 | |
| Randy Walker 1990–1993 | 1–3 | Miami (OH) | 4 | |
| Chuck Stobart 1989–1993 | 1–2 | Memphis | 3 | |
| Bill Lewis 1989–1991 | 0–3 | East Carolina | 3 |
Tim Murphy’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Miami (OH)series | 5 | 2–3 |
| East Carolinaseries | 5 | 1–4 |
| Louisvilleseries | 4 | 1–3 |
| Kent Stateseries | 3 | 3–0 |
| Kentuckyseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Memphisseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Bowling Greenseries | 3 | 0–3 |
| Rutgersseries | 2 | 1–0–1 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Brown | Part-time assistant | |
| 1980 | Brown | Assistant offensive line | |
| 1981 | Lafayette | Offensive line coach | |
| 1982–84 | Boston University | Offensive line coach | |
| 1985–86 | Maine | Offensive coordinator | |
| 1987–88 | Maine | Head coach | |
| 1989–93 | Cincinnati | Head coach | |
| 1994–2023 | Harvard | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- John AndersonBrown
- Buddy TeevensMaine
Assistants who became head coaches
- Jack CosgroveMaine, Colby
- John BonamegoCentral Michigan
- Lou WestIndiana State
- Bob StittColorado School of Mines, Montana
- Kevin DohertySaint Francis
- Chris NugaiFitchburg State
- Dave CecchiniValparaiso, Bucknell
- Patrick MurphySaint Anselm
- Chris WoodsTexas State, Mansfield, Stonehill
- Joe ConlinFordham
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Anderson | Brown | 1979–80 | 1979: part-time assistant; 1980: assistant offensive line | |
| Buddy Teevens | Maine | 1985–86 | Offensive coordinator |
Coached under him, later head coaches (10)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Cosgrove | Maine, 1987–88: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | Maine, Colby | |
| John Bonamego | Maine, 1988: assistant coach | Central Michigan | |
| Lou West | Cincinnati, 1989–91: outside linebackers coach; 1992: tight ends coach; 1993: defensive backs coach | Indiana State | |
| Bob Stitt | Harvard, 1999: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | Colorado School of Mines, Montana | |
| Kevin Doherty | Harvard, 2001: defensive backs coach; 2002: co-defensive coordinator; 2003–08: assistant head coach and defensive coordinator | Saint Francis | |
| Chris Nugai | Harvard, 2003–04: running backs coach | Fitchburg State | |
| Dave Cecchini | Harvard, 2003–06: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | Valparaiso, Bucknell | |
| Patrick Murphy | Harvard, 2003: defensive ends coach | Saint Anselm | |
| Chris Woods | Harvard, 2007: linebackers and special teams coach | Texas State, Mansfield, Stonehill | |
| Joe Conlin | Harvard, 2011: offensive line coach | Fordham |
Other assistants under him (10)
| Coach | With him | |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Sheridan | Maine, 1987–88: linebackers coach; Cincinnati, 1989–91: linebackers coach | |
| John Lovett | Maine, 1987–88: defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach; Cincinnati, 1989–92: defensive coordinator | |
| Greg Studrawa | Cincinnati, 1989–90: graduate assistant | |
| Harry Hiestand | Cincinnati, 1989–93: offensive coordinator and offensive line coach | |
| Ted Daisher | Cincinnati, 1989–92: defensive line coach | |
| Craig Ver Steeg | Cincinnati, 1990: wide receivers coach; 1991: wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator; 1992–93: quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator; Harvard, 1994–95: pass game coordinator, quarterbacks and wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator | |
| Eddie Gran | Cincinnati, 1992–93: wide receivers coach | |
| Tom Roggeman | Cincinnati, 1993: defensive coordinator | |
| John Butler | Harvard, 2003–06: special teams and linebackers coach | |
| Mickey Fein | Harvard, 2017–20: passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach; 2021–23: offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.