'I have no interest': Porter Moser shuts down Notre Dame rumors, says 'Oklahoma is my home'

Oklahoma coach Porter Moser shutdown rumors of his interest in coaching for Notre Dame on Monday.

“I'm a Catholic kid from Chicago, and I've had much success in Chicago, and I have a lot of respect for that university,” Moser said. “With that said, I have no interest. I have not pursued it, nor do I have any interest. Oklahoma is my home, the Sooners are my home. I'm in the beginning process of turning the program around in the era of the transfer portal, NIL and the Big 12. We are in unprecedented territory. … I'm so committed. I'm home.”

The second-year coach is 31-29 with OU, with a 9-21 Big 12 record. In his first season as head coach, Moser missed the NCAA Tournament — OU’s first time since 2017 — and lost to St. Bonaventure in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament.

Porter Moser on Notre Dame: “I have no interest— Oklahoma is my home.” #Sooners head coach addresses the rumor.

— Jason Batacao (@J_batacao) February 13, 2023

The Sooners, led by Moser, have had their fair share of struggles this season. OU is 2-10 in conference play and is currently on a seven-game losing streak to conference foes.

Oklahoma has also lost six of its last seven contests by more than 10 points, including a 23-point loss to No. 9 Kansas on Saturday. Despite the lack of success, Moser reaffirmed his commitment to the Sooners this season and beyond.

“This place means a lot to me,” Moser said. “The people here, the fan base, I’ve spent so much time with with the student body with the fan base so no, I don't (have any interest). Yeah, of course, everywhere you go, you're gonna have people talking, but I know that but there's nothing that can be said to me. That's not stopping my vision and my passion and where I want to go with building this program and winning here.

“There's nobody that wants to win more than my staff. I believe in the people here, they're so special. I can't control what reports, and I can't I can't control what rumors about jobs are said. But I can say, unequivocally, that's a false report saying I pursued (Notre Dame), unequivocally. … I left home to be at home. Does anybody want to win and wish the results were faster? Of course, I do.”

Sherfield, alongside senior forwards Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill, has been one of the veteran leaders for the Sooners. He’s Oklahoma’s leading scorer this season, averaging 16.5 points per game.

This story was edited by Austin Curtright and Colton Sulley.

“We met as a team,” Sherfield said. “I feel like with his group of guys, we're so close off the court and on the court as well. All the coaches sat us down, because I want to say you guys said something immediate after the game, he addressed this way. And then after that, we all got together and just had a real down to earth talk. I mean, we got to the bottom of some things and we came to some conclusions for sure.

“It wasn't anything huge. We all enjoy each other's company, and we pretty much do a lot of things together. … We had to kind of address some things to help us play.”

Reeling from a four-game losing skid, the Sooners (12-13, 2-10 Big 12) are hoping to get back on track against No. 12 Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in Norman.

Oklahoma has likely fell out of a potential March Madness bid during its losing stretch, but Moser sees a last-ditch opportunity to re-shape a path into the tournament with six regular season games left and the Big 12 Tournament looming.

“I want them to look at me every single day and say, ‘man coach believes we can win every single game we walk into,’” Moser said. “Because I really do believe with every bone in my body (that we can). I prepare like it, and my staff prepares like it …but we have to help them be more consistent. We got to put them in a better position to be more consistent.

“We've got to guard to be more consistent, and that starts with me. We will continue to try and push that wall down.”