Porter Moser shoots down idea of him as a candidate for Notre Dame: ‘I have no interest’
A potential candidate to be the next Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach made his interest in the position clear. Lack of interest, that is.
Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser dismissed the idea that he has pursued or is interested in replacing outgoing Irish head coach Mike Brey when asked to comment on it at a Monday press conference. Moser, 54, has the on-paper profile of a strong fit for Notre Dame because of his ties to Midwest and his successful 10-year run as Loyola Chicago head coach.
“I’m a Catholic kid from Chicago,” Moser told reporters. “We had a lot of success in the Chicago area. I’ve got a lot of respect for that university. With that said, I have no interest. I’ve not pursued it, nor do I have any interest. Oklahoma is my home. The Sooners are my home.”
Moser is in his second season as Oklahoma head coach. The Sooners are 12-13 overall and 2-10 in the Big 12. They went 19-16 overall and 7-11 in conference games last year, earning a No. 1 seed in the NIT.
Oklahoma is 1-6 since the Jan. 20 announcement that Brey will step down at the end of the season. That backslide and the Notre Dame job opening sparked curiosity around Moser’s willingness to leave Oklahoma for the Irish. Would he want to restart his clock and stay ahead of any questions about him that might come with two bumpy seasons to start his Sooners tenure?
No, Moser insisted.
“I’m in the beginning process of turning a program around in an era of the transfer portal, of NIL and the Big 12 being in unprecedented territory and then the extra COVID year — all those things colliding and having to rebuild a roster,” Moser said. “I’m so committed. I’m home. This place means a lot to me. The people here, the fan base. I’ve spent so much time with the student body, with the fan base.”
Moser came to Oklahoma after spending 2011-21 at Loyola, where he led the Ramblers to the 2018 Final Four and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021. They were 99-34 in his last four seasons.
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Oklahoma signed Moser to a six-year contract when it hired him that pays him about $3 million annually. He has a reported $9 million buyout that drops to $6 million on April 1. Notre Dame’s willingness to pay that much for a men’s basketball coach is unclear. Moser, in essence, told the Irish not to even bother deciding if they want to — at least for him.
“Of course, everywhere you go you’re going to have people talking,” Moser said. “I know that. But there’s nothing that can be said to me that’s stopping my vision and my passion of where I want to go and how I want to look at building this program and winning here. There’s nobody that wants to win more than my staff and I. This place, I believe the people here are so special.
“I can’t control what is said about rumors about jobs. But I can say unequivocally, that’s a false report saying I pursued it. Unequivocally. And nor do I want to. I’m home. I’m home. I left home to be at home. Does anybody want to win and wish the results were faster? Of course. I do. But they’re going to come.”
Notre Dame (10-15, 2-12 ACC) has six regular season games left, plus the ACC Tournament. The Irish play next at Duke Tuesday evening (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Irish are unlikely to hire Brey’s replacement until late March or early April when many of the potential candidates currently coaching college basketball would be done with their seasons.
