February 19, 2012

Riders Mourn the Passing of Cal Murphy

The Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club would like to extend its deepest sympathies to the family of former Rider head coach and CFL Hall of Fame member Cal Murphy.

“Cal Murphy is a legend in CFL coaching, but more importantly he was a wonderful person,” stated Riders President/CEO Jim Hopson. “Since his retirement from coaching, Cal was a fixture in our offices watching film and talking football. He will be missed by our entire organization.”

After coaching in high school and U.S. college ranks, Murphy joined the CFL coaching fraternity in 1974 as the B.C. Lions defensive line coach. He was named head coach in B.C. in 1975. In 1977, Murphy moved to Montreal to join Marv Levy’s staff. In 1978, Murphy moved to Edmonton and was part of five Grey Cup championships teams.

In 1983, Murphy’s CFL odyssey took him to Winnipeg where he spent the next 14 years as head coach and later General Manager. During his stay in Winnipeg, Murphy took the Bombers to the Grey Cup five times, winning three championships.

Murphy joined the Roughriders coaching staff in 1997 and was named the team’s head coach and Director of Football Operations for the 1999 season. Following his retirement from coaching, Murphy spent the past number of years scouting for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

In 1993, the Governor General of Canada conferred upon Cal the Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. The honour was bestowed upon Cal in recognition of significant contributions to compatriots, to community and to Canada.

Cal was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2004.