After that season, citing personal reasons, Murphy took a pay cut and came to coach at Harvard.

Former Harvard quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05—now the starter for the Buffalo Bills—told CBSSports.com that he thought his former coach would be up to the challenge of the Penn State job.

“He’d be a perfect fit. He’s been so successful [at Harvard] not only on the field but with guys graduating, guys behaving off the field,” said Fitzpatrick, who was the captain of the perfect 2004 team. “He possesses all the qualities that I think they would look for.”

Harvard’s head coach has said that he has stayed with the Crimson despite other offers over the years because of his family and other personal reasons. But he does not deny that he would consider a Penn State offer if it came his way.

“You never say never in this business,” Murphy said in an interview two weeks ago. “But to put it simply, we’re very happy here.”

—Staff writer E. Benjamin Samuels can be reached at samuels@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Robert S. Samuels can be reached at robertsamuels@college.harvard.edu.