A coach's story: Gary Murphy has nearly 600 wins, no team to coach

Mainbar for April 29, 2012 package of stories about high school coaches in the Ozarks getting fired.

Remembering a phone call he received about four years ago, former Nixa High School girls' basketball coach Randy Towe recently phoned a former rival when he heard the successful coach had been fired.

Because, when Towe was let go by the Nixa school board in 2008 after another nice season in a long and successful career, Marshfield's Gary Murphy had been one of the first to call.

When Murphy was sacked last month by the Marshfield School District after almost 600 career victories, it was time for Towe to return the favor.

"We started talking and we started finding out, that (the situation was) identical; it really was," Towe said. "Sometimes you wonder, what do they really want? Gary's whole coaching career ... With his intensity, his style; why is it the wrong way now?"

A staggering amount of coaching upheaval has struck the Ozarks prep sports scene this spring, alarming coaches and parents of players past and present.



That's especially true after ther terminations of Murphy, a four-time state championship winner, and Crane boys' coach Rob Guerin, whose team won a state title just last year.

The upheaval comes at a time when coaches have little recourse on how to save their jobs and correct perceived issues with their coaching styles, as the News-Leader discovered.

Murphy's intense coaching style and a threat of players not returning after this year's 14-11 finish were factors, Superintendent Mark Mayo acknowledged last month.

"I feel like I've had a pretty good career," Murphy said. "There are some things I won't miss: Bus rides, and I won't miss Sunday practices. I won't miss Christmas tournaments and not spending time with the family. But I will miss the competition and the kids.

"On the other side of it, I don't really want to see my career end like it did, either. So, I'm not shutting the door to coaching if the right situation came on."

Murphy, 50, was fired by a 4-2 school board vote on March 19. Board member Jamie Clark, who has a daughter on the team, voted against the coach. Patrick Theobald, who also has a daughter on the team, voted to retain him.

The team had no seniors but a large number of sophomores and freshmen. Among them is Lauren Aldridge, a 5-foot-9 sophomore who said she was recently offered a basketball scholarship by the University of Nebraska.

"It was a group of parents that were ready to see a change. And they had the right leadership in place for that to happen, and it did," said Murphy, who led Marshfield to eight Final Fours, including state championships in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1999.

About 200 Murphy supporters attended the meeting, some telling the News-Leader that Murphy's style pays off down the road. Murphy said parents of some of this year's players thought their daughters were being worked too hard.

Key questions

So what's an acceptable coaching style these days? What's over the line?

Rogersville athletic director Rod Gorman, a fiery boys' basketball coach in his own right, said communities change over time, and administrators must gauge what's appropriate. He has been a coach for 25 years, 16 at Rogersville.

"We've made that comment before: That may work in wherever, but it won't work in Logan-Rogersville," Gorman said. "It's a difficult thing. The same coach could be way more successful and popular in one place than another coach doing the same thing. It's about trying to find the right fit."

Springfield Public Schools Athletic Director Mark Fisher, who has been involved as a coach or administrator in high school sports for 30 years, said the times have changed.

"Over the past 30 years, there always were expectations of winning and having a winning program," he said. "But now there are so many more youth sports out there which have increased expectations whether that be with students, parents or the community itself."

In Marshfield, most board members either declined comment or declined to speak on the record. Board President Michele Day did not return repeated phone calls from the News-Leader.

Mayo, the superintendent, declined to speak about specifics with Murphy's situation because of legal concerns.

However, a News-Leader Sunshine request for copies of emails to and from Marshfield board members and administration reveals there may have been more to the story. An email from board member Max Pulley to Mayo indicated Murphy "was warned and failed to comply." That email was dated March 8, 11 days before the board took action.

The context of Pulley's email remains a mystery, as Pulley declined comment Saturday.

However, Murphy maintained Wednesday he was not given a warning until a postseason evaluation conducted by Kevin Armstrong, the athletic director, and Principal Randy Luebbert in early March. Only then did Murphy learn he may not survive a school board vote.

Despite Murphy's reputation as a fiery and demanding coach, the school board surprisingly retained him as softball coach. He has since resigned from that position.

Mayo, in an interview last week, said, "Wins and losses are only part of the story. Things related to this process, and wins and losses, are not the whole story."

Murphy has since inquired about vacant positions in southwest Missouri, at Purdy and Southwest, near his hometown of Wheaton.

Fallout

A candidate who interviewed for the Marshfield job, but was never offered, said Murphy's situation gave him pause.

Steve Frank led Seymour to the Class 3 state tournament this year as the Lady Tigers finished 30-2. He said other potential applicants for the Marshfield job expressed reservations, given the way Murphy was ousted.

"It was a sticky situation, and it did make you ask yourself a lot of questions," Frank said. "It was a scary thing where, if they didn't want you after one or two years, you would have to be looking for a job. It did have a lot of play in my feelings toward the job."

Across the Ozarks, not even winning in the current season exempts a coach from at least some criticism.

The News-Leader this winter received three unsigned complaints about high school boys' basketball coaches. Those coaches combined for a 68-17 record this year.

Four years ago, Towe was fired as Nixa's coach despite more than 400 victories in 23 years, including a state championship in 2000. He is retired from teaching but coaches softball at Billings.

"I feel for coaches that have to go through it. The time has allowed me to reflect a little bit to know that I'm not the only one who went through it," Towe said.

Sunshine request (break-out box)

With school board members reluctant to talk about personnel issues in conjunction with the firing of girls' basketball coach Gary Murphy, the News-Leader sent a Sunshine request for copies of emails to and from board members and administration about the coach's employment.

Board president Michele Day wrote a March 22 email to board member Jamie Clark, three days after Murphy's dismissal, affirming her public silence on the firing.

"I will not breach my fiduciary duty to the district in order to 'save my skin.' As a board member I am privy to information that is not available to the public," Day wrote. "I made my decision and cast my vote using the facts that were presented. Now you ask, 'Why did 2 members of the board not come to the same decision then?' That, (redacted), is their cross to bear, not mine."

An email from board member Max Pulley to Superintendent Mark Mayo on March 8 indicated Pulley was upset Murphy was informed he might not be back during the postseason evaluation, and not when the board received an administration recommendation on whether to retain Murphy at the board meeting.

"I thought it was crystal clear how this was supposed to happen," Pulley wrote. "I was pretty sure nothing was to be said before our AD's recommendations. There was (sic) several ways to do this and this was not in my opinion the best option."

Pulley clarified Saturday.

"That made it look like it was a board decision, and it had not been," he said. "We base our vote on recommendations of the athletic director. The way I understand is the AD makes his recommendation and that is what we have to go on."