By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CEDAR BLUFF – Cole Murphy received an early 30th birthday present on Monday evening.
For a while now, Murphy has wanted to be the head coach of his own football program. Cedar Bluff Principal Torey McDaniel and the Cherokee County Board of Education helped give him that opportunity on Monday evening, as Murphy was officially hired as the new Tiger head coach.
Murphy, who turns 30 on Saturday, said he couldn’t think of a better present.
“It almost feels unreal to be able to achieve it,” Murphy said. “I’m excited for the opportunity. I’m excited to be closer to home and to be back in the county. I’m ready to go to work. I’ve already started on my to-do list, my plan, my calendar.”
It’s that type of mentality Murphy has that stands out to McDaniel.
He knew of Murphy’s athleticism when Murphy played football at Gaylesville. He later worked with him as a young coaching talent when the two were on staff together at Spring Garden a few years ago.
McDaniel was the school’s assistant principal, while Murphy was the head baseball coach and an assistant on the Panther football team.
Their paths had gone separate ways since then, but now they’re reunited again.
“Him being under Coach (Jason) Howard at Spring Garden, I got to watch him close and personal,” McDaniel said of Murphy. “He is a hard worker. He is very detail oriented. I think he will bring that to Cedar Bluff.”
An all-around standout athlete at Gaylesville before graduating in 2014, Murphy signed a football scholarship with Birmingham Southern, where he played at defensive back and linebacker through the 2017 season.
Upon graduating college, Murphy coached baseball for a couple of seasons at Class 6A Minor High School in Adamsville.
Murphy’s first head coaching job came at Spring Garden. He was hired in June of 2021 to be the head baseball coach as well as an assistant on the football team under Howard and current coach Barrett Ragsdale.
Murphy spent three years at Spring Garden. As an assistant on the Panther football staff, Spring Garden went a combined 30-6 with two region championships, which included the school’s first 12-win season in 2021. The Panthers posted their first undefeated regular season and finished 12-1. They also reached the state quarterfinals that season in Class 2A.
In his first season as a head baseball coach in 2022, Murphy guided the Panthers to a 17-16 record, which included a Cherokee County baseball title and a second-round playoff berth in Class 2A. The Panthers were 12-12 in 2023, which included another county championship and a Class 1A playoff berth. Spring Garden was 7-14 in 2024 and fell just short of the 1A state playoffs.
Following the Panthers’ 2024 baseball season, Murphy made his way to Class 6A McAdory in McCalla, where he was an assistant football and baseball coach with the Yellow Jackets.
With Murphy on the Yellow Jacket football staff, McAdory was the Region 4 runner-up with a 7-4 record in 2024. Last season, McAdory went 7-3 and lost in the first round of the 6A state playoffs at Spain Park.
Murphy said he hopes he can mesh his experiences together to make Cedar Bluff into a winner again.
“One of the best things I’ve had from all of the coaches I’ve coached under, from Coach (Adrian) Abrams at Minor, then Coach Howard and Coach Ragsdale at Spring Garden, then Coach (Aryvia) Holmes at McAdory, the biggest thing all of them showed me was they truly want to teach everything they know to everybody. That’s something that makes me excited to be a head coach now. I get that opportunity to give other people the knowledge that I’ve learned for almost the past decade.
“It’s one of those things where I’m ready to get started. I’m excited for it. I want to get to know everybody. I want to pass on that knowledge and have that responsibility.”
“He’s very familiar with the area, but he’s also been at several other places, so he’s been able to develop his own train of thought and his own kind of system,” McDaniel said.
“Him coming from a small school, working at a small school in the county at Spring Garden, and also playing football for four years at Birmingham Southern, being at McAdory and learning from them, he’s been successful everywhere he’s been. I think that’s pretty good because you need someone that has a different perspective but also has the same values you’re kind of looking for. He’s able to bring in a breath of fresh air and maybe show some different things to people.”
McDaniel said Murphy’s “breath of fresh air” should fit in well with the Tiger coaching staff and players.
“We have a lot of young, hungry coaches who are also very detail oriented. They want to win, and I feel like they will work with Cole very well,” McDaniel said. “Some of them know already know Cole. Some of them don’t, but I have no doubt by the time he meets everybody they will put a system and a plan in place to go forward. I think our coaching staff relates to the kids of today and the kids we have in our building right now. I think our kids are looking forward to it.”
Speaking of the Cedar Bluff kids, McDaniel said he’s proud of how hard they’ve worked during the coaching transition.
“Ever since the season ended, they’ve been wanting to get better and wanting to learn,” he said. “It starts with Ross Johnson, who’s headed up the weight room since the season ended. Coach Crane is still doing agilities. All of our coaches have come together in the weight room, and it has been running very smoothly. The kids are working very hard, and I know they’re excited to finally learn who their coach is so we can get going.”
“Just having the kids committed already going into a job like this is a big part of the battle that’s won. That excites me,” Murphy said. “It lets me know where the kids are. They’re ready to get going. They’re ready to get back to work and ready for whatever is next.”
McDaniel said he talked to “15 or 16” coaching candidates throughout the interview process. He narrowed that field down to 10, then further down to three, before officially deciding on Murphy.
McDaniel called the process “nerve-wracking.”
“There were several good candidates we had,” McDaniel said. “Basically, what I was looking for is someone who was going to put the students and academics first, someone who was going to build teams who could compete on every snap. We needed to increase participation and improve strength. Overall, (Cedar Bluff needs) someone who understands what a small school and a small-town value is. Through that process, I know we got the right man.”
Murphy said he hopes he can live up to McDaniel’s expectations of him.
“I have a ton of respect for him, for what he’s doing, and where he’s wanting to take Cedar Bluff. I’m excited to work with somebody like that,” Murphy said. “To have his support means the world to me. It motivates me so much more because I know how important Cedar Bluff is to him.
“For him to give me the opportunity I’ve always dreamed of is motivation. Him giving me this chance has been a blessing. I’m excited for it and I’m ready to accomplish every single thing he throws at me.”
McDaniel said Cedar Bluff will host a “meet the coach” event in the school gym this Thursday, Feb. 12, at 5:30 p.m. He said the community is invited to attend and welcome Murphy and his wife Sara Beth aboard.
