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One Last Time, Oklahoma Coach Porter Moser Addresses DePaul Rumors

The Sooners coach was the subject of multiple reports Monday and shot it all down on Twitter, but Tuesday got more questions about his resolve and focus on OU.

John E. Hoover

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On a Zoom call with Oklahoma media on Tuesday ahead of the Big 12 Tournament, Sooners coach Porter Moser got a handful of questions about his response Monday night to rumors that he was interested and/or “in talks” with DePaul about the Blue Demons’ opening.

He politely addressed the questions — for one final time.

“Two or three weeks ago (got) a question, I answered it then, and I answered it last night in a statement (on Twitter),” Moser said. “And so I just want to put it to bed again and focus all my thoughts on our team and beating TCU and playing this (game) and advance in the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. So that's — I've addressed it twice now.”

After numerous unsubstantiated reports — most citing unnamed sources — surfaced throughout the day on Monday, Moser was at the team dinner last night when he felt compelled to craft a post “emphatically” declaring “THERE IS ZERO TRUTH.” He added “I LOVE Oklahoma and Sooner Nation.”

“These accounts make stuff up and there is no validity to any of these “sources” (because) I have spoken to NO ONE about any job!!”

He said the reports had “not at all” become a distraction for the team and the players, but he did feel compelled to publicly clear the air for a very specific reason.

“Yeah, it was very simple: it’s all false. It's all fake,” he said Tuesday. “And they know me. They know, absolutely, I'm locked into here. So it got to the point where it was so much on social media, and I addressed it — it’s the second time I've addressed it now. So I'm not going to address it anymore. I told them that and they just, you know, we're all full steam ahead on trying to compete and prepare for TCU.”

Asked a follow-up question about any frustration about the timing of it all, Moser interrupted the question.

“I’m not going to answer any more. Let's talk about TCU. I've literally addressed it twice. And I've been asking questions here. And, you know, I don't know how many more times I got to address it.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.