He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame on May 7, 2022—the first softball coach to be so honored.
[3] In 1990, Murphy began studies for a master's degree in communications at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette) and joined the Lady Cajuns softball team as an assistant coach, where he would stay until 1994.
[3] Murphy built one of the most successful college softball programs, taking Alabama to thirteen Women's College World Series appearances (2000, '03, '05, '06, '08, '09, ‘11, '12, '14, '15, '16, '19, & '21) since 2000, which is only second in the NCAA to UCLA, having made 16 appearances in that span.
On June 9, 2011, Murphy announced that he was leaving Alabama to take the head coaching position at rival LSU.
[4] Three days later, before signing a contract at LSU, he changed his mind and returned to Alabama— saying Alabama is "where his heart was".