Cal Murphy remembered as football genius, family man

REGINA ? The magnitude of Cal Murphy?s career, and of the void created by his loss, is reflected by the manner in which people have approached Paul Robson in recent days.

?He?s idolized in Winnipeg,?? Robson, who hired Murphy as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers? head coach in 1983, said following Friday?s funeral mass for the Canadian football legend.

?When I?ve been walking down the street in Winnipeg, people have come up to me and said, ?Paul, my condolences on your loss.? It was the family?s loss. It was my gain that I got to work with him.??

Murphy led the Blue Bombers to three Grey Cup titles. He was the head coach of the 1984 CFL championship team ? Robson was the Bombers? general manager at the time ? and served as the GM when Winnipeg won the title in 1988 and 1990.

In total, Murphy received 10 championship rings during an illustrious football career. He earned one Grey Cup ring as a head coach, two rings as a general manager and six more as an assistant coach. A 10th ring was added to the collection after the NFL?s Indianapolis Colts, for whom Murphy was a scout, won the 2007 Super Bowl.

Murphy was employed by the Colts at the time of his death Saturday at age 79 ? nearly 20 years after he received a life-saving heart transplant.

?He was a devout family man and a devout Christian,?? Robson said after Friday?s service at Holy Cross Parish, which Murphy and his wife, Joyce, had faithfully attended since moving to Regina in 1997.

?Professionally, I?ve said that he probably was the most complete coach who ever coached in the Canadian Football League. He understood the Canadian game, in all of its nuances and complexities, better than anyone who ever coached in the league.??

Robson said that Murphy?s understanding of three-down football encompassed the entire spectrum of the game, from offence to defence to special teams to strategy to personnel to administration.

?There was probably not a better in-game coach than Cal,?? Robson continued. ?He was always ahead of wherever you were. Tactically and strategically, he was without par.??

A keen eye for talent also worked to the benefit of Murphy and the teams he coached and administered.

?He had an ability to look at an athlete, recognize what he did well, and project that,?? Robson said. ?He was relentless when it came to getting good people and good players around him. When I say relentless, I?m talking about 365 days a year.

?And he had one of the world?s great laughs ? a great sense of humour.??

Jim Daley can attest to that. Daley, who was the Saskatchewan Roughriders? head coach from 1996 to 1998, hired Murphy as an assistant in 1997. Murphy worked on Daley?s staff in 1997 and 1998 before succeeding Daley as the Riders? field boss in 1999.

?Cal had an incredible impact not only in terms of football, but in terms of intangibles,?? said Daley, who coached alongside Murphy when Saskatchewan represented the West Division in the 1997 Grey Cup game.

?One of the things that changed immediately when Cal joined our staff was the amount of laughter in the building. His laughter would light up the hallways. He had a great combination of football skills and people skills.??

Murphy ? a 2004 inductee into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame ? was a CFL head coach with the Roughriders, Bombers and B.C. Lions. He was also an assistant with the Roughriders, Lions, Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos.

As a player, Murphy was a quarterback and defensive back with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Vancouver, he was a defensive back with the Lions in 1956 before finding his niche as a coach at various levels of Canadian and American football.

In recognition of exemplary service to the game, a football signed by CFL commissioner Mark Cohon was presented to Joyce Murphy near the end of the funeral mass. Many of the former players in attendance handed off the football to one another before it was given to Murphy?s wife.

?It was a tremendous service,?? Roughriders president-chief executive officer Jim Hopson said. ?So many people from across the country showed up to pay their respects. The themes of family, humour and football ran throughout the service.

?If you knew Cal, you knew that family was important to him. He was a great guy and we?re all going to miss him.??

Regina Leader-Post

rvanstone@leaderpost.com

? Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post

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