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Pitt Hires Chryst As New Head Football Coach

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- For the third time in 11 months, the University of Pittsburgh football team has a new head coach.

At his introductory press conference, Paul Chryst called the position a "destination job" and a lot of people will be watching to see if that is the case.

Unlike Todd Graham's "high-octane" theme, Chryst said he was a very basic guy.

"I understand where we're at. I understand this is the City of Champions," he said. "We're gonna go and we'll be driving back from the stadium and it'll be a night game and we'll see the victory lights on top.

"But really, you don't announce anything today. It's really shallow if you announce what you're going to do. Your actions have to prove it," Chryst continued.

After so many coaches in such a short time period, Pitt students and fans who know little about Chryst know they want stability.

"I really hope he sticks to his guns and stays with Pitt a little bit longer and give us kind of a chance to move forward and get the program back on the level where we're sending people to pros and really kind of get … where our basketball program is these days," Jared Hammill, a Pitt graduate student, said.

Chryst has a 23-year coaching career which includes 16 years in the collegiate level and seven years in the professional ranks.

4-1-Zoo Blog: Meet Paul Chryst By The Numbers

Chryst comes to Pitt from Wisconsin where he worked as the offensive coordinator for the Badgers.

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