As Cape Coral High School welcomes its new football Head Coach, Tyler Murphy, the excitement is definitely noticeable. Murphy brings nearly six years of professional coaching experience to the table. His experience and knowledge of the game give the football team a promising future not just for this season, but for years beyond high school.
His deep obsession with X’s and O’s, along with the psychology of strong athletes led him into the coaching career after his college stint with the University of Florida. He began his coaching career in 2018 at Florida Atlantic University where he was under the assignment of Lane Kiffin. He then coached for the University of Tennessee under Jeremy Pruit in 2019. Murphy then found his way to coaching for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins under Brian Flores during the 2020-2021.
He landed a Head Coach position at Cape High as a result of Leigh’s Head Coach Antoine Dixon Jr, who managed to convince him due to the fact Murphy’s long-time friend and former teammate Jaylen Watkins was also behind the bench.
“[Dixon Jr] asked me to come out and then knowing Jaylen, he convinced me to come out here to Cape because he said it’s a lot of talent, a lot of good people and so I jumped on the opportunity, and came out here in Cape,” Murphy explained.
The bond between Murphy and Watkins goes back to when they were playing for the University of Florida in 2010. “We first met freshman year at the University of Florida, back in 2010, and we kind of just clicked,” said Murphy
“Jaylen and I have had our ups and downs on and off the field. We’ve always been there for another and we have a tight bond and trust in one another. So, coming out here to work at Cape Coral High School with him was a no-brainer, something we always joked about and kind of manifested just talking about it beforehand, and it manifested itself into what it is today.”
Murphy’s primary goal at Cape High is to reshape the team’s culture and instill a “blue-collar mentality” in the locker room. “What I hope to bring to the Seahawks is a culture that allows everyone that’s a part of it to elevate to be their best self,” he explained. Murphy’s approach is not just about winning games but also creating an environment where the team can thrive on and off the field.
“I think the word clutch is overused and overrated,” he stated. “[Athletes] hold themselves to a high standard and play with perfect effort and perfect focus, and everything else will take care of itself. You can’t really control external things. You can only focus on yourself.”
As a former teammate of Murphy, Jaylen Watkins knows how impactful he is on the field when needed the most. “[Murphy] has a knack for getting his message through to players, whether that be something very firm, whether that be something very light, it just always tends to hit,” Watkins said.
According to Watkins, Murphy is the coach that every high school athlete wishes for. “Coach Murphy does a very good job in every setting, with every player getting what needs to be said across that player,” he noted.
“We’re dealing with 15, 16-year-olds and you need a very good understanding to get the message across at 30, to connect with this kid. That’s one of the hardest things to do as a high school coach and he does it very well on the field.”
In agreement with Watkins, former Head Coach Larry Gary believes that Murphy is the ideal presence in the locker room, noting “[Murphy] brings a lot of information, a lot of knowledge to our program. By him being young and energetic, he’s bringing all the up-to-date standards and the college pro-readiness.”
One objective that Murphy wants to dial in on this year is getting the athletes ready for the transition between high school and college, mentally and physically. “Having mental toughness, you know college is gonna be tough and you’re gonna be far from home, you might be homesick,” he explained.
“That’s one of the main core values, is to never quit no matter how life is, no matter how tough life gets, never give up. Find a way to just keep pushing forward, showing up in the face of adversity.”
Watkins has seen firsthand how Murphy’s thought process works when it comes to creating the perfect gameplan, stating “I watched him talk about putting in work, he was a guy that was always behind the eight ball. He was my roommate so I can see the study and I can see the effort and it never stopped from Tyler. I saw when he had nothing in front of him and he just put in that effort to make it work.”
If there is one thing that Murphy has shown to the team, it is his commitment. As Gary stated, “Quality starts with commitment. You start with having to delegate assignments to your staff. Quality coaching is when you have a coaching staff that gets along with each other and knows that they dare for one cause, and that’s the team.”
Win or lose, Murphy has promised to bring the same dedication and commitment to improvement. “The guys have been working hard, and for us, it’s all about doing everything we can to stack the odds in our favor, right, whether we win or lose,” Murphy noted. “That’s not something we can’t control, but all we can control is our effort and our attitude each and every day. And if we show up, trying to be our best, those eyes will be stacked in our favor.”
When it comes to good coaching, Murphy is everything you’ll need. With him behind the bench, expect your football team to play hard and strong this season. This team has been looking for regular and postseason success and with the acquisition of professional experience, it is a possibility.
