COLLEGE PARK — Introductory news conferences exist to give fan bases a first look at their new coach.

And for Terps supporters craving one who has good things to say, Wednesday was needed to wipe away any lingering resentment of Kevin Willard’s messy departure.

Enter Buzz Williams, who cried on stage when introducing his family, said the word “team” 35 times in 10 minutes and described his vision for Maryland men’s basketball in front of fans, media and donors at Xfinity Center. Beside interim athletic director Colleen Sorem and university President Darryll J. Pines, Williams commanded the room.The 52-year-old coach has gotten used to these settings; Wednesday was the fifth time Williams has been introduced as the new coach of a men’s college basketball program. He’s yet to stay anywhere longer than six seasons.

Should Maryland be concerned that its new coach is too similar to its old one — willing to upend years of progress for the potential of better elsewhere? Willard, who bolted for Villanova right after Maryland’s season ended in the Sweet 16, didn’t view the Terps as a destination job. They hope Williams, who treated all of his previous stops like the next rung of a ladder to an eventual peak, does.

“I was at American for four years, Boston College four, Ohio State three. Then I came here for 22,” former coach Gary Williams said Wednesday. “I hope Buzz does the same.”

Sorem said Wednesday that Maryland spoke with “some of our most valued and trusted supporters” before landing on Buzz Williams and added that they considered more than 30 coaches for the opening. But former Maryland great Len Elmore, who penned a letter posted on X this week that said there’s “no more room for mercenary coaches” and that he hopes his team doesn’t hire an “outsider,” told The Baltimore Sun in a phone interview that his input was not taken during the process.

“Apparently, our voices don’t count,” Elmore said. “It’s quite frustrating.”

Williams’ history of staying no more than six seasons at any of his previous jobs was not considered during Maryland’s search, Pines said.

“That doesn’t bother us,” the university president added. “Wherever he’s been, he’s won. Wherever he’s been, he has demonstrated high character, high integrity. We wanted someone who could lead the future of Maryland men’s basketball. He was very passionate about coming to Maryland.”

Williams has now ditched four schools on his climb to College Park. He took the job at Marquette after one season at New Orleans and led the Golden Eagles to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances before things unraveled in his sixth season. Williams was suspended for Marquette’s first Big East game in 2013, and one of his top assistants was fired in connection to recruiting violations. Williams was gone a few months later, off to Virginia Tech.

With the Hokies, who missed the NCAA Tournament the previous seven years before Williams took over, the coach engineered a 20-win season by his second year, an NCAA Tournament appearance by his third and a Sweet 16 run in his fifth. Then another call to go elsewhere came.

He took over a losing Texas A&M team and produced five winning seasons in six years. Twenty-plus-win campaigns became commonplace, like they had at all of the coach’s previous stops, but postseason success proved elusive with the Aggies. Williams’ teams won just two NCAA Tournament games.

Williams is a native of Greenville, Texas, a Dallas suburb only 200 miles from College Station. His oldest son is a student at Texas A&M and his youngest plays basketball at Division III East Texas Baptist. The Southeastern Conference had blossomed into perhaps the nation’s best basketball league, and Texas A&M’s resources are seemingly unlimited. And yet, the itch to start anew flamed up.

“Absolutely,” Pines said when asked if the coach views Maryland as somewhere he can finally lay roots. “This is a destination for Coach Williams.”

So here Williams is, standing at a podium on the Xfinity Center court Wednesday morning, speaking to a fan base yearning for stability. He’s always provided that. It just never lasted.

“I was very impressed with Dr. Pines,” Williams said on stage. “It was a very unique and tight process. That was very attractive to me.”

Maryland’s new coach is a proven winner who’s elevated every program he’s joined. But he’s also proven he doesn’t like sticking around longer than he has to. Willard was the first coach to treat Maryland like a stepping stone to a job that he believes is better. That’s all Williams knows. The Terps are certain this time will be different.

“First of all, this place is bigger than any coach that’s ever coached here, and that’s not going to change,” Gary Williams said. “I think this is a place where you can have the rest of your career. And I think Buzz is looking at this place as that kind of job.”

Baltimore Sun reporter Edward Lee contributed to this article.

Have a news tip? Contact Taylor Lyons at tlyons@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/TaylorJLyons.