Roughriders given permission to talk to Calgary assistant GM John Murphy

John Murphy is officially a candidate to take over the Saskatchewan Roughriders vacant general manager job.

The Calgary Stampeders have given the Riders permission to talk to Murphy, who is currently Calgary's assistant general manager.

The Stampeders season came to an end on Sunday following a 45-31 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos.

Murphy is under contract with the Stampeders until the end of December. He told the Canadian Press he's not in a hurry to leave Calgary, but is open to talking about the job with the Roughriders.

Saskatchewan fired general manager Brendan Taman in August. Jeremy O'Day took over as interim GM for the remainder of the season.

Roughriders President and CEO Craig Reynolds said he wants to hire a new GM by mid-December.

Murphy has spent eight seasons with the Stampeders, including the past five as the Stampeders' assistant GM and director of player personnel.

He spent time with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2009 as their director of player personnel. Murphy was is also a former U.S. scout with the Montreal Alouettes.