A star-studded group is lobbying for Baylor University to hire former Chicago Bears star Mike Singletary as the school's next head coach.

Baylor president Dr. Robert Sloan held a conference call Friday morning to hear a group present a case for Singletary as Kevin Steele's replacement.

Sloan listened to a group of Singletary supporters that included Arizona Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis and former Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints coach Mike Ditka.

"It was one of the most powerful one-hour conference calls that I've ever been on," said former Baylor linebacker Doak Field. "Just the fact that you had so many people with the same idea of how to fix our football program."

Sloan told a Houston television station that Singletary contacted him about the job and Baylor is interested.

The conference call came on the heels of a story in Friday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is considered the front-runner to replace Steele, who stayed on to coach the last three games after being fired Nov. 3. Baylor finished the season on a seven-game losing streak with a 56-7 loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.

But a source close to the process said the search committee did not meet Wednesday, as reported in the Star-Telegram, and is not close to naming a replacement. The committee was expected to meet through a conference call Saturday night.

When a radio station in North Carolina asked Grobe about various rumors that he was leaving, he said, "We're getting ready to play Navy (today). I plan on continuing to be the football coach at Wake Forest."

Other top candidates include Guy Morriss at Kentucky, Tony Samuels at New Mexico State and Dan Hawkins at Boise State.

The most intriguing name on the list is Singletary, a two-time consensus all-American at Baylor.

"I really feel, given the sad state of Baylor football, we've got to find a man who offers instant credibility and a chance to make a big splash in the headlines," said Field, who was a teammate of Singletary's all for years in college. "He's as driven and organized as any football man I've ever known. He's a man that Baylor loves and loves Baylor.

"To me, it's a no-brainer. There is nobody in the world who could impact this program as quickly as Mike Singletary. And I know for a fact that he is interested."

Singletary, though, has not coached on any level.

This is Baylor's third coaching search in the last six years and the fourth since Grant Teaff retired after the 1992 season. Since then, the Bears have a 10-year mark of 36-75.