After a solid but unspectacular career at West Albany High School, and a five-year stop with the Oregon Ducks as a walk-on, Will Murphy carved out a two-year NFL career by following the simple advice his father taught him: Keep your head down, and focus on each detail.



But lately he's preferred the long view, and has looked back with a smile on stories about his time with the Philadelphia Eagles, such as this:



"Right after my first training camp, I was going out for my first preseason game and come out of the tunnel at Lincoln Financial Field," Murphy said. "I'm kind of standing there in the end zone like, I can't believe this is happening. And Michael Vick comes up and puts his arm around me and says, 'Welcome to the NFL Murph, it's the best job in the world.'"



It was the best job, anyway. The 6-foot-2, 193-pound receiver was released by the Eagles in May after two seasons on the practice squad, and has spent the past two months at a career "crossroads," taking the time to remember his unlikely journey to the NFL while looking as far into the future as he can.



"It was a crazy ride," he said.



His summer spent fishing and golfing must come to an end at some point. His choices will come down to coaching -- he said he's chatted about the profession with Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost -- or trying to join Nike, where he can see himself involved in product testing.



"If I went into coaching I'd love to get a (graduate assistant) spot because I think that's just a great intro to coaching, and it'd give me a year to find out if that's something I really want to do," said Murphy, who is volunteering as a coach this week at former teammate Ben Butterfield's youth football camp in Sherwood, which runs through Saturday evening.



"The best part about sports is just about being around the guys, so since that's ended I miss just being around that team chemistry and I think coaching would be that next step I could get that feeling from."





Eagles coach Chip Kelly is entering his third season in charge in Philadelphia.

Murphy held one of the more fascinating perspectives on Eagles coach Chip Kelly's unorthodox transition into the NFL after he left Oregon and immediate joined his former coach in Philadelphia in 2013.



There, Murphy was one of nine former UO players on the roster coached by a staff littered with UO connections. Together, they watched as Kelly went against the NFL grain by following his Oregon system.



"It felt like I was still in Eugene when I was out there," Murphy said. "It was a blast. They didn't listen to what everyone was saying, like, 'Oh he's crazy.' Chip has always had his plan and he sticks to it and he gets people that are on board with it.



"When you get on board and he brings you in, it's amazing to be doing something that's revolutionary. No one's doing it. Everybody wants a part of it now, everyone's trying to get their foot in with them to learn what they're doing."



Now Murphy has been searching for the best place to get his foot in the door.



His next job, however, probably won't begin with words of advice from Vick.



"Now when it's over is when you kind of look back at it like, 'Wow, I can't believe that happened," he said.

-- Andrew Greif

agreif@oregonian.com

503-221-8100

@andrewgreif