“He really likes a blue-collar, humble kid,” Rose says.

If that’s true, maybe it is because Murphy sees a bit of himself in those blue-collar types. Murphy was the first person in his family to attend college.

Today, his first priority remains his wife, Martha, and his three children. The main reason he decided to leave Cincinnati—a top Division I-A program —to come to Harvard was because he thought Boston would be a better place to raise his family.

“My family is simply the most important thing in the world to me,” Murphy says. “It gives me the balance in my life that I need. I’ve got young enough children that they still think I’m the funniest, smartest, toughest guy in America. They haven’t got me figured out yet.”

Murphy sees his relationships with his players in much the same way he views his role at home.

“When you’re a coach, it’s a lot like being a dad,” Murphy says. “You don’t try to be their buddy. You try to do the right things so that they can reach their full potential.”

Murphy’s players respect his approach. He is tough, they say, but always fair.

“There’s no pretense with him,” Staph says. “He’s straightforward, doesn’t give you any bull. When I wasn’t good enough to play, he’d told me, ‘You’re not good enough to play.’”

The football team has always been known as one of the most tightly-knit groups on campus. They practice together, they take classes together, they live together.

But Staph, who has been here for five years, says this might be the closest group since he’s been here. Murphy, he

says, has helped foster that.

“This summer, we had a cookout at Coach’s house before camp,” Staph says. “We’d never done that before.”

History in the Making

So now the football team stands on the cusp of history. A win Saturday would clinch Harvard’s first perfect season since 1913.

But that’s the ancient past. For current Harvard observers, a more meaningfulstandard is the ’97 club, Harvard’s last team to go undefeated in Ivy play.

So, Coach Murphy, which team is better?

“I don’t know man-for-man if this team is as talented as the ’97 team,” he says. “But this team is as hard-working and as resilient as any team I’ve ever coached.”

And, as dramatic as so many of Harvard’s games were this year, this title might be a little sweeter.

“I don’t think in ’97 we had any close games,” Murphy said Saturday. “This one is a lot more special for that reason. It took a lot more character to get where these guys got this year.”

This year’s success is indeed a tremendous tribute to the Harvard players. But it reflects well on Murphy, too. He’d already shown he could win on pure talent. This year, he led a team that faced heavy odds, jarring injuries and previously insurmountable deficits. In the end, he made Harvard a champion again.