Regina, SK (The Sports Network) - Former Winnipeg Blue Bombers head coach and Hall of Fame member Cal Murphy passed away at the age of 79 on Saturday night.
He passed away in a hopsital in Regina after being admitted there earlier in February when he suffered broken ribs from a fall.
Murphy was a part of nine Grey Cup championship teams over his 24 years as a head coach, assistant coach and general manager in the Canadian Football League.
He was an assistant under Marv Levy in Montreal when that team won the Grey Cup in 1977 and was also an assistant with Edmonton when that team won five consecutive championships from 1978-82.
Murphy then went to Winnipeg to again become a head coach in 1983 and won the Grey Cup with the Bombers in 1984. He was general manager at Winnipeg when the team won the Cup in 1988 and 1990.
"Everyone in both the immediate, and extended, Blue Bomber family is deeply saddened by this news," said Winnipeg president Garth Buchko. "Cal was a great ambassador for our game and for Canadian football in Winnipeg and Manitoba."
He finished his coaching career in the CFL with Saskatchewan in 1999 and went on to coach teams in NFL Europe and the XFL.
Elected to the CFL Hall of Fame in 2004, he was serving as a scout for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts when he passed away.
"Cal Murphy lived and breathed and loved football -- and our league was so much better for it," said CFL commissioner Mark Cohon. "He was a fierce competitor, with a keen eye for talent, and an ability to mold great teams."