In August 2010 it was announced that Murphy would join the Kerry management as a selector under coach Jack O'Connor.
He played no part in the Munster championship winning campaign, but returned to the team for the All-Ireland semi-final with Donegal that Kerry won.
The game ended in a 2-12 to 3-09 draw, Kerry won the re-play 3-10 to 1-12 to give Murphy an All-Ireland title as captain.
He was not the only change in personnel, as Murphy replaced Declan O'Keeffe as the first-choice goalkeeper on the team after the first round of the league when Kerry had a surprise loss to Longford.
An exciting 3-11 to 1-6 victory saw Kerry claim the title and Murphy picked up a first National Football League winners’ medal.
[2] 'The Kingdom' subsequently booked their almost annual spot in the provincial final and, for the second year in succession, Limerick were the opponents.
The points kept coming from Murphy's team and an injury-time Michael Conroy goal was nothing but a consolation for Mayo.
Following this win Kerry cruised through the All-Ireland series to reach another championship decider with Tyrone providing the opposition.
Murphy's side could only manage three points in the opening half, however, the introduction of Eoin Brosnan transformed the team.
At the end of the seventy minutes a 2-12 to 0-10 score line gave Kerry their 18th National League title.
[9] The league win was a false dawn as Kerry went out tamely to Cork in a replay of the Munster final.
At half-time it looked as though the Ulser hoodoo would strike again but Kerry blitzed the men from the orchard county in the second half with Darragh Ó Sé dominating midfield while Kieran Donaghy shone at full-forward.
They won by a score of 3-15 to 1-13, in the process putting an end to the notion that Kerry had no answer to the northern style of defensive play.
The subsequent All-Ireland final was an historic occasion as Kerry faced Cork in the very first all-Munster championship decider.
All did not go to plan as Murphy's side lost team captain Paul Galvin to suspension after an incident with referee Paddy Russell in the Munster semi-final against Clare.
'The Rebels' fought back and, in a massive downpour, Kerry could only muster three points in the second period of play as Cork secured a remarkable 1-16 to 1-11 victory.
An exciting game developed, one that was more competitive than the routs that had taken place at the same stage of the championship over the previous two years.
In January 2010 Murphy became the first high-profile Kerry star to announce his retirement from inter-county football due to a back problem.
In 2011, then Kerry manager Jack O'Connor brought him in as a selector to replace former team mate Éamonn Fitzmaurice.