CAMBRIDGE, Mass — After 30 years of leading the Crimson, Harvard head football coach Tim Murphy announced his retirement, on Wednesday morning.
“Harvard University has been a very special place for my family and me,” Murphy said. “I am graduating from a profession that has not only been my job, but other than my family and close friends, it has been my passion and my life for the past 45 years.
Murphy, 67, is leaving Harvard as the all-time winningest coach in Ivy League and school history and served as a head coach for 37 seasons overall including prior stops at Maine and Cincinnati.
“It has been an incredible honor to be the football coach at Harvard, and I am forever grateful to have been blessed to work with so many amazing people starting with the 1,000 student-athletes and 80-plus assistant coaches during our tenure here,” Murphy added.
Murphy took over as head coach in 1994 when Harvard had not won more than eight games in a season since 1919. By his fourth season, Murphy has led the Crimson to a 9-1 record and the 1997 Ivy League championship.
“Sometimes, at the end of your career someone will ask, ‘Do you have any regrets?’ And my simple answer is no, because in any endeavor, any relationship, if you give it absolutely everything you have, there can be no regrets.”
Over the next 26 years, Murphy guided the Crimson to .500-or-better seasons 23 times, including perfect campaigns in 2001 (9-0), 2004 (10-0), and 2014 (10-0), which helped him become the first Harvard coach since the Ivy was formed in 1956, to have three unbeaten and untied seasons.
“Harvard has 150 years of football history and Tim Murphy led the most successful era of its entirety in his 30 seasons,” said Erin McDermott, The John D. Nichols ‘53 Family Director of Athletics. “His name will forever be linked with Harvard Football in an exalted manner because of the sustained team success, coaching milestones achieved, and the measure of his character and work ethic, McDermott added.
Murphy coached Harvard to nine more Ivy titles following the one in 1997. Harvard was crowned Ivy League champions in 1997, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2023, with the final title matching the conference record for most championships by a head coach.
Murphy was also a five-time finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award (top FCS coach) and eight-time New England Coach of the Year.
A national search for Murphy’s successor will begin immediately.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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