Under Riley, the Blue Bombers quickly made an impact in the East, winning Grey Cups over their former division rivals B.C. and Edmonton in 1988 and 1990 respectively and garnering Riley the coach of the year award both championship seasons. After Riley left, Darryl Rogers and Urban Bowman each led the team for a season until 1993, when Murphy took over head-coaching duties again. Murphy went on to lead the team to a total of five Grey Cup appearances, winning, as a coach in 1984, and as a GM, in 1988 and 1990. He left the club after the 1996 season, having spent 14 years with the team. Later, he coached the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1999.