Harvard officials scurried to deny a report yesterday that University of Cincinnati football coach Tim Murphy will succeed outgoing Harvard Head Coach Joe Restic.

Murphy, a native of Kingston, Mass., and a former Division I-AA Coach of the Year, is credited with reviving a moribund Cincinnati program and guiding it to its best season in 17 years.

The Cincinnati Post, quoting unnamed sources, reported yesterday that Murphy had been offered and had accepted the Harvard job. But Harvard officials immediately condemned the article as false.

"There's one guy who is making the decision and that's me and I haven't made it," Athletic Director William H. Cleary '56 told The Associated Press. "We have it down to a short list, absolutely. People know that."

Over the last several weeks, the search committee has narrowed the field of candidates to a short list of three or four. Cleary and other officials would not say whether Murphy is one of them.

Search committee members John P. Reardon '60, the alumni association director, and Harry R. Lewis '68, McKay professor of computer science, both denied the Cincinnati report.

"That's just not correct," Reardon said. "The job has not been offered. A decision has not been made."

"If you print that, what you would be printing would be false," Lewis said.

Sports Information Director John Veneziano said the timing of the article, coming just a few daysbefore the final game of Restic's 23-year career,made him "a little angry."

"The report is completely erroneous," he said."It is wrong. And inappropriate, I might add. Wewill not be making a decision until after theseason is over. We would not do anything to takeaway from Joe's season."

Restic concludes his Harvard career at The Gamethis Saturday in New Haven, Conn.

Neither Restic nor Murphy could be reached forcomment yesterday.

University of Cincinnati President JosephSteger told the Post that Murphy informed himseveral weeks ago that he was a finalist for theHarvard post. But Steger said Murphy has not saidwhether he is leaving.

According to the Post, Steger also said Murphyis a candidate for the head coaching position atDuke.

"I don't know what's going on right now," saidJohn Hamel, Cincinnati's assistant sportsinformation director. "I think he will addressthese issues at the end of the season."

Murphy, 37, is 16-37-1 at Cincinnati. When hearrived at Cincinnati five years ago, the DivisionI-A program had a long, losing tradition and wason NCAA probation.

The team is now 7-3, has bowl aspirations, andwraps up its first winning season since 1982against East Carolina on Saturday.

Murphy is under contract through 1996, but hewill not be required to buy out his contract.Murphy's base salary for 1993 is $119,996,according to the Post.

Murphy has no direct ties to Harvard. But hewas the head coach at the University of Maine fortwo years and has been an assistant at BostonUniversity, Lafayette and Brown.

He was an All-New England linebacker atSpringfield College.

Murphy would be leaving a division I-A team tocoach a Division I-AA program. But according tothe Post, Murphy likes Harvard "because of hisrespect for the school, his love of New England,the lack of big time athletic pressure, thechallenge and the sense that he's achieved what hecame to do at UC."

The Post report also said Harvard selectedMurphy for "his record of running a clean program,his personal conduct, and his progress in boostingthe UC program."CrimsonAmanda M. DawsonJOE RESTIC