The Zeitgeist List · coaching

Tim Murphy

Followed Dave Currey. Tim Murphy slid Cincinnati from Regional Program IV to Regional Program V in 5 seasons.

17–37
1989–1993 · 1 stint
Cincinnati
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Career arc

His real stature score, season by season, across every program he’s coached — so a stretch that stays in one tier the whole way can still climb or sink on the line, not just flatten out. Node color marks the tier reached. Which program a stretch belongs to is carried by the shaded lane behind it.

Stature score reached, by season of his head-coaching careerCINCINNATIRegional Programthe building-block levelCincinnati, 1989: 1-9, Regional Program V1989Cincinnati, 1990: 1-10, Regional Program V1990Cincinnati, 1991: 4-7, Regional Program V1991Cincinnati, 1992: 3-8, Regional Program V1992Cincinnati, 1993: 8-3, Regional Program V1993-2.8One point per coached season, in career order; dashed segments are program changes — spacing is not proportional to calendar time

Reached Regional Program in his 1st career season — faster than 20% of the 925 FBS coaches who have ever reached Regional Program (rank #1 of 925 by seasons-to-arrival).

Cincinnati, 5 seasons
−2.8
Regional Program V → Regional Program V.

The big-game ledger

How he does in the games that matter most — rivalry record, performance broken out by real opponent tier, one-score games, and his toughest historical matchup.

3–6 against his rivals. Winless in 3 tries against Bill Lewis.

Rivalry record
3–6
33.3% · 2 rivals
One-score games
7–9–1
41.2% · margin ≤8
vs. Blue Blood or better
0–1
0.0%
Rivalry ledger
Miami (OH)2–340%
Louisville1–325%
The toughest matchup
vs. Bill Lewis0–3
3 meetings, 1989–1991
’89 L’90 L’91 L
0% win rate across a real, 3-meeting series — short of the bar this site uses before badging a series “Nemesis.” Shown here as the toughest matchup on record, not an algorithmic crown.
Performance by opponent class
Dynasty
0–1 0.0%
Blue Blood
0–3 0.0%
Power Program
0–4 0.0%
National Program
2–6 25.0%
Regional Program
13–21 38.2%

Coaching career

1989–1993
Cincinnaticaretaker
Regional Program IV → Regional Program V
Tim Murphy slid Cincinnati from Regional Program IV to Regional Program V in 5 seasons.

19th-best Cincinnati tenure of 19 by the numbers.

Followed Dave Currey (1984–1988) · succeeded by Rick Minter (1994–2003).

4 NFL Draft picks: Andrew Stewart (1989), Ronnie Dixon (1993), Michael Davis (1994), Jocelyn Borgella (1994)

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