Murphy Confirms Interview for San Jose State Job

FULLERTON —  Cal State Fullerton football Coach Gene Murphy confirmed Thursday that he was interviewed for the San Jose State job last week, but he isn’t sure where he stands among the three finalists.

“I haven’t heard back from anyone since I’ve been up there,” said Murphy, 50, who is a candidate along with California assistant Terry Shea, 43, and San Jose State assistant Rick Rasnick, 30. “I don’t know if that’s good news or not.”

Hesh Colar, a San Jose State defensive back who is on the four-man screening committee that interviewed candidates, said Wednesday that Rasnick had been eliminated from consideration.

But Rasnick said Thursday that no one from the San Jose State administration has told him he is out of the running. San Jose State Athletic Director Randy Hoffman gave no indication Thursday when the school would make a decision.

If the school chooses Murphy, at least one coach, Stanford assistant Dave Tipton, thinks Murphy will accept the job.

According to Tipton, who was Murphy’s defensive line coach at Fullerton from 1984-87, Murphy is growing tired of the apathy that seems to surround the Fullerton football program.

“They’re excited about the prospect of having some good teams but by the same token, it would be nice to have a stadium and alumni who care,” said Tipton, who talked to Murphy Tuesday. “Things are hard at Fullerton, because if you’re going to get anything done, you have to do it yourself. That can wear on a person.”

Murphy has earned praise for building a competitive program on a small budget and with no on-campus stadium. He has a 54-60-1 record in 10 years and has won two conference championships, but attendance has been falling.

San Jose State would seem to be a lateral move for Murphy--the Big West Conference Spartans play in the shadows of Stanford and Cal, just as the Titans play in the shadows of USC and UCLA.

“But go look at the stadium Fullerton has and their fan support at any home game and then call it a lateral move,” Tipton said. “I think Gene would like to get the San Jose State job.

“San Jose State has its problems, but it also has a huge (30,000-seat) on-campus stadium and a strong alumni base that doesn’t seem to exist at Fullerton. You’d think with the population base Fullerton has, they’d be able to draw more than 1,500 a game.”