While the men whose voices mean everything in this deal won’t confirm it, others are saying the search for Nebraska’s next football coach is finished.

According to multiple sources, Nebraska will hire Louisiana State University defensive coordinator Bo Pelini some time early next week.

Two sources told the Journal Star that a news conference could come as early as Sunday. ESPN reported the deal, “barring any last-minute snags.”

Contacted by phone by the Journal Star on Friday night, Pelini denied the report, and then said: “I honestly don’t know where they’re getting their information.”

When reached, University of Nebraska interim athletic director Tom Osborne was asked if the report was true.

“I’m not going to comment,” Osborne said. “There are so many reports with the Internet and the radio and all of that. When the time comes, there will be an announcement, and it will be final.”

He said such an announcement is still “a couple two or three days away. … We’ve interviewed several people. I don’t know if we’ll interview anybody else. We’re just going to let things take their course.”

The Journal Star first reported on Saturday, the day that Bill Callahan was fired, that Pelini had been contacted by a private search firm working with NU officials.

On Sunday, Pelini was the first one of three known candidates to interview with Osborne, the others being Buffalo head coach Turner Gill and Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe.

Though never a head coach, Pelini has been mentioned often in connection with various job openings around the country. Syracuse and Pittsburgh are among schools that have shown great interest in Pelini.

Pelini has been something of a cult hero in Nebraska ever since his one year as Husker defensive coordinator in 2003. NU ranked 11th in total defense and led the country in turnover margin that season.

The year before Pelini arrived, Nebraska ranked 55th in total defense. The year after he left, the Huskers ranked 56th.

Since coming to the college game in 2003, Pelini’s teams have won 10 or more games every season.

It’s true some have wondered if Pelini’s temperament is suitable to be a head coach. Often cited is the day Pelini raced across the field after a 38-9 Husker loss and unleashed a verbal barrage on former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.

Then there was the time Pelini was called for a 15-yard penalty for yelling at officials about a questionable call in the 2003 Alamo Bowl, in which he was Nebraska’s interim head coach.

But Pelini’s fire seemed only to endear him more to the Husker fan base.

When he left the field after a 17-3 win over Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl, fans chanted: “We want Bo! We want Bo!”

As former Husker Sam Koch recently told the Journal Star, Pelini just had a way about motivating players.

“I loved the day before a game, going into defensive meetings just to hear his words,” Koch said. “He always had a way of motivating the defense. It was something I’ve never seen before or heard. He was just so intense.”

If the job is his, Pelini likely would bring back at least four coaches with Nebraska ties. The staff probably would include Marvin Sanders, who was a Husker assistant alongside Pelini in 2003.

Pelini is known to favor the spread offense.

Many have predicted that Osborne will choose either Pelini or Gill for the job.

Buffalo athletic director Warde Manuel told the Buffalo News on Friday evening that Gill told him he hadn’t heard anything from Nebraska regarding the job.

Are there any other candidates out there who still could be interviewed?

The Journal Star has learned that Nebraska had an interest in talking to Navy coach Paul Johnson. It’s unclear if Osborne still wants to talk with Johnson, whose team plays Army today.

As for Pelini, some thought he should have been picked as the Husker head coach four years ago when he interviewed with Steve Pederson.

Instead, it was Callahan. Was Pelini ready then to be a head coach?

“Oh, yeah, I was ready,” Pelini recently told Yahoo! Sports. “But I’m even more ready now.”

Reach Brian Christopherson at 473-7439 or bchristopherson@journalstar.com. Reach Steven M. Sipple at 473-7440 or ssipple@journalstar.com.