Oklahoma’s Porter Moser is apparently not heading to DePaul.
Moser posted to social media that there was “zero truth” to to “rumors” that were floating around on Monday. Moser has been linked to the Blue Demons’ open coaching job.
Heard all the rumors this afternoon 🤦♂️ and want to say emphatically THERE IS ZERO TRUTH!!
I LOVE Oklahoma and Sooner Nation ❤️🤍
These accounts make stuff up and there is no validity to any of these “sources” b/c I have spoken to NO ONE about any job!! pic.twitter.com/Hcl5h0q1f5
— Porter Moser (@PorterMoser) March 12, 2024
It’s not the first time that Moser has dismissed speculation about the opening at DePaul. The school has needed a coach since firing Tony Stubblefield in January. In February, Moser said that any link between him and the school was “all rumor mill fodder.”
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Moser is in his third season at Oklahoma after he spent a decade coaching Loyola, Chicago. The Sooners were a game over .500 in his first two seasons in Norman and are in line for an NCAA tournament berth this season. Oklahoma enters the Big 12 tournament at 20-11 and was ranked as high as No. 7 in the AP Top 25 early in the season. However, the Sooners posted an 8-10 record in Big 12 play and haven’t beaten Texas in six matchups since Moser was hired.
In any other circumstance, it wouldn’t make much sense for a tournament-bound Big 12 coach to be linked to the worst job in the Big East. DePaul went 3-28 in 2023-24 and was 0-20 in conference play. The Blue Demons haven/t been to the NCAA tournament since 2004 and haven’t won 20 games in a single season since 2006-07.
But the Chicago connection is a big reason why Moser has been mentioned for the job. Before he led Loyola to two NCAA tournament appearances in four seasons and the Final Four in 2018, Moser was the coach at Illinois State for four seasons.
According to ESPN, DePaul isn’t scared away by Moser’s buyout either.
The most intriguing speculation centers around Oklahoma’s Porter Moser, a native of the Chicago suburbs who spent a decade at Loyola Chicago. Talks aren’t as advanced as social media would lead you to believe, but there’s interest and DePaul has expressed it would be willing to pay Moser’s buyout, which is around $6.5 million, sources told ESPN.
Assuming Moser stays at Oklahoma, he’ll be coaching in a different conference next season. The Sooners are moving with the Longhorns to the SEC this fall and the SEC has become nearly as competitive as the Big 12 on the men’s basketball side.
