Ohio State Basketball: 9 candidates to replace Chris Holtmann as Head Coach

Porter Moser

Proper research is important when making head coaching hires. It’s tempting to throw everything at the young up and coming coaches, but it’s important to consider all the factors. What if I told you that there’s a head coach who failed, bounced back in a major way, and is currently having a great season at the power conference level; clearly I’m talking about Moser.

This Illinois native bounced around as an assistant, including at alma mater Creighton, before head coaching stints at Little Rock and Illinois State. He assisted Rick Majerus at Saint Louis after the Redbirds fired him, but found quite the second act at Loyola-Chicago. Moser led the Ramblers to an incredible Final Four run in 2018. Three years later, he took Loyola to the Sweet Sixteen before departing for Oklahoma, who are in the midst of the best of his first three seasons.

The first question you have to ask is if Moser would be a better fit in the Big Ten or the SEC, the conference that Oklahoma will join this offseason. He’s been with the Sooners for less than three years, but it stands to reason that he could be a better fit back in the Midwest with the Buckeyes. Moser was tremendous in building success at Loyola and has won some key games in the Big 12 this season. He could actually be a sneaky good hire in Columbus.