COLLEGE FOOTBALL Stoops top candidate as Arizona's next coach

The Youngstown native is going for his second interview this weekend.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The University of Arizona is close to hiring a new football coach, and Oklahoma associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator Mike Stoops has emerged as the leading candidate.
Stoops, of Youngstown, and younger brother of Sooners' coach Bob Stoops, was interviewed in Oklahoma last Thursday by members of the search committee, Arizona sports information director Tom Duddleston said. Another interview is scheduled this weekend.
Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood told The Associated Press Wednesday night that no one has been offered the job to replace the fired John Mackovic and that the search process is proceeding as scheduled.
"We haven't speeded up anything," Livengood said. "We have a number of people that we're going to be visiting and in due time all of that will come out."
Three other candidates
Three other candidates are to be interviewed this weekend. Livengood wouldn't confirm the names, but the trio is believed to be Cincinnati Bengals linebackers coach Ricky Hunley, USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow and New York Giants defensive coordinator Johnnie Lynn. Hunley is a former linebacker at Arizona. Lynn began his coaching career as a Wildcats' assistant for seven years.
The search committee has set a Dec. 1 target for the hiring, but the decision could come sooner, even before the Wildcats play their season finale at Arizona State on Nov. 28.
Stoops has said several times that if he got a head coaching job, he would leave the No. 1-ranked Sooners immediately rather than stay with the team through the Big 12 title game and, perhaps, the Sugar Bowl national championship contest.
Brother Bob adds praise
At his weekly media luncheon on Tuesday, Bob Stoops said his brother has a great background for rebuilding a program.
"Everywhere Mike has been as a player or coach, he's won," Bob Stoops said. "He's been around great people. I'm not including myself in that. I'm talking about all the coaches at Iowa that he came up under."
Mike Stoops, 41, a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High, was a two-time all-Big Ten defensive back at Iowa in 1983-84. He played for the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Gladiators of the Arena League before becoming a graduate assistant coach at Iowa in 1986.
Joined Sooners in 1999
He moved to Kansas State in 1992 and eventually became assistant head coach and defensive coordinator before joining his brother at Oklahoma in 1999.
"He's been a part of the rebuilding at Iowa and Kansas State. When he left, they had the No. 1 defense in the nation," Bob Stoops said. "I look at it -- again I say this in a humble way -- I seem to be fairly popular to want to hire. There's nobody more like me than him."
Mackovic was fired five games into his third season at Arizona and replaced by defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz. Hankwitz has said he would like to remain as coach.
The Wildcats (2-8, 1-6 Pac-10) ended a 13-game Pac-10 home losing streak and a school record overall eight-game skid with a 27-22 victory over Washington Nov. 8.