Todd Graham to be Pittsburgh's New Head Coach

The former Hurricane head coach announced Monday that he is leaving to take over at Pittsburgh.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:08 pm

By: News On 6

Todd Graham to be Pittsburgh's New Head Coach

Originally Published: Jan 10, 2011 5:23 PM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Former Tulsa head coach Todd Graham announced Monday that he will leave the university to become the head man for the Pittsburgh Panthers

Graham is expected to be introduced as the Panthers’ new head coach in a press conference Tuesday and said he is excited to take over a program in the Big East conference.

"My family and I are honored to join such a prestigious university and rich football tradition like the University of Pittsburgh," Graham said. "Pittsburgh is a tremendous football city with great fans. We will work diligently every day to earn their respect and build a program that competes for and wins championships.

In a tweet Monday night, his wife Penni confirmed that the deal became official at 6:53 p.m. and thanked Tulsa fans for the past four years

"4 years ago, I prayed for 4 years in Tulsa. If He would give me that, I would be so grateful, because I knew it was what our family needed....Many days, tears, prayers, conversations have taken place, but tonight at 6:53pm, we made became Pittsburgh Panthers."

KDKA in Pittsburgh reports that Graham’s contract will pay him $10 million over the next five years, which is nearly double what previous coach Dave Wannstedt was paid.

He will become the 35th head coach in Pitt football history, and it will be Graham's third head coaching stop. He coached at Rice for one season in 2006 before taking over at Tulsa for the next four years.

University of Pittsburgh athletic director Steve Pederson said Graham's success at Tulsa has been noticed across the country.

"His innovative, creative and energized approach to football makes him an exciting leader for our program," he said. "He has a proven track record of success at all levels of football and his wealth of experience on both sides of the ball gives him a unique set of credentials."

In his four seasons at Tulsa Graham went 36-17 and 10 wins in three of his four seasons, including a C-USA West Title.

Speaking to the press after the announcement Monday, Tulsa athletic director Bubba Cunningham said that the search for a new head coach would be "very quick" with National Signing Day looming on the horizon.