When he was in eighth grade, Sheamus Murphy was planning to go to high school and play football at Providence.

A late change of heart sent him to Sandburg, which he called “the best decision of my life.”

“Growing up, I fell in love with high school football watching the 1990s Providence dynasty,” Murphy said. “My cousin, Ryan Murphy, was an offensive lineman and my cousin, Joey Schley, was an all-state running back.

“I was all set to go to Providence. In late May, I changed my mind. I had a buddy going to Sandburg and wanted to go to Sandburg with him. The rest was history.”

And now Murphy is about to add a whole new chapter to that history. He has been named Sandburg’s next head coach.

“It’s a dream come true to become the head football coach at my alma mater,” Murphy said.

Murphy replaces Troy McAllister, who went 19-20 over four seasons before departing for SouthWest Suburban Conference rival Homewood-Flossmoor in January.

Murphy, who was an assistant coaching tight ends on McAllister’s staff last fall, spent the previous nine seasons as a head coach.

He was the first football coach for Back of the Yards, helping to found a program that went 28-10 with two playoff appearances in his four years there.

Murphy then took over at Eisenhower, leading the Cardinals to their best five-year stretch in program history.

Eisenhower went 26-21 under Murphy, finished the regular season over .500 in five straight seasons for the first time in program history and made the playoffs in all four years that a postseason was held.

Sandburg athletic director Steve Schanz recognized the opportunity to hire an alum with a proven track record was a slam dunk.

“We are beyond excited to have Sheamus Murphy take over our football program,” Schanz said. “Having a Sandburg grad with previous successful head coaching experience and infectious energy is a win for the Sandburg community.”

Murphy left Eisenhower to return to Sandburg last fall as the division chair for physical education, health and driver’s education.

The plan was to step away from being a head coach to spend more time with his wife, Hannah, and their two young sons.

But plans change, especially when a dream job comes along.

“We weren’t expecting this but life happens and these opportunities don’t come up every day,” Murphy said. “I had to jump all over this.

“I had a lot of good conversations with my wife and my two sons at home. We’re fired up and really excited for this next chapter.”

Murphy said it was invaluable to be in the program for a year under McAllister before taking over.

“Troy’s a great mentor to me,” Murphy said. “We go back to the Chicago Public League days when I was at Back of the Yards and he was at Phillips. I’ve always looked up to Troy, and to be able to come back and coach with him for a year and see how he’s transformed the program and everything he’s done, it was great to experience that for a year.”

Murphy was a freshman at Sandburg the last time the program reached the quarterfinals in 2004. The Eagles’ last conference title was in 1996.

He cited breaking those droughts as two of his biggest goals.

Murphy knows the challenges that await. Sandburg’s primary issue for decades has been keeping players in Orland Park, with a bevy of private school options around.

Murphy feels he has a unique perspective to present to kids as a Sandburg graduate who nearly went the private route instead.

“We’re going to create relationships early and often,” he said. “You’ve got to be visible and resilient in that pursuit of our kids staying home. We’re going to create great experiences so our kids are coming to Sandburg.”