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Graham Murray had the uncanny ability to turn a bunch of easybeats into genuine premiership contenders, but question marks will always be raised over whether he was a successful coach.
In the modern era success is judged on premierships and State of Origin series wins and, unfortunately for Murray, he hasn’t been able to deliver any for Illawarra, Hunter Mariners, Leeds, Sydney Roosters, North Queensland or NSW.
Others will argue that Murray turned around the fortunes of several struggling teams, including the Roosters and the Cowboys.
The Roosters always had the talent on their roster but could never seem to go the extra step in the finals until Murray took them to the decider against Brisbane in 2000.
They lost 14-6 and he was unceremoniously sacked from the job.
When Murray replaced Murray Hurst as Cowboys coach in 2002, the team was a shambles and seemingly going nowhere.
But with the help of several astute purchases in the player market and a cleanout at the club’s front office, the former teacher transformed the Cowboys into an outfit to be feared.
Murray guided them to the preliminary final in 2004 and a grand final appearance against Wests Tigers but, like Newcastle coach Brian Smith, he wasn’t quite able to add a premiership to his CV.
He was then appointed NSW coach after the Blues had won three consecutive series.
But NSW triumphed in just two matches, including a dead rubber, in the six Murray was in charge and he was forced to resign.
This year the Cowboys announced that Canberra mentor Neil Henry would take over the head coaching role but Murray, 53, would see out the season.
But club officials couldn’t wait that long after North Queensland suffered four straight losses to sit second last on the ladder after 10 rounds.
Former Cowboys captain Travis Norton said Murray had copped some unfair criticism in his time as a first grade coach.
“I hear people bagging Muz and saying `look at his past, he got booted from the Roosters after taking them to the grand final’, but I don’t think it’s fair,” Norton said.
“Muz has taken a lot of teams to a lot of good success.
“For people to focus just on the negatives, I think that’s a shame.
“I think he’s done a lot of good for the teams he’s taken control of.”
Asked why he believed Murray kept getting moved on, Norton replied: “This is his seventh year at the Cowboys so maybe they were looking for a change.
“Wayne Bennett’s been at the Broncos for 20 years and had different players coming through but he never seemed to get stale.
“I don’t think Muz would either. The start of the year was when they booted him and a ball hadn’t been kicked.
“The year before Muz took them to one game short of the grand final with a lot of injuries.
“I feel for him a bit because he’s been to two grand finals and lost two and as a player I’ve done the same (in 1998 and 2005).
“I really know how he feels. He’s stuck with that stigma of not getting his team to the premiership.”
It’s a stigma that can really hurt a player or coach and fuel a burning desire for success, depending on how that person judges success. Just ask Brian Smith.
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