SEARCH GOES ON : Finks Still Front-Runner, but Some Pushing for NBA’s Stern

Jim Finks, the veteran National Football League executive who came close to succeeding Pete Rozelle as commissioner last month, was interviewed again by the new search committee Thursday, and is still considered the front-runner.

Some of the NFL’s newer club owners, however, are pressing for David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Assn.

Although Stern says he wants to remain with the NBA, several NFL owners have asked the search committee to interview him when it meets again during the week of Aug. 13.

The job pays $1 million a year.

Among those interviewed this week were Harvey Schiller, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference; Willie Davis, former Green Bay Packers star and now a Los Angeles businessman, and others previously considered by the original search committee.

The argument between the 16 old-guard owners who voted for Finks and the 11 newer owners who didn’t has yet to be resolved.

What the new owners still want is a survey of the entire country for what they call the best possible candidate. They say that only Finks, general manager of the New Orleans Saints, could meet two requirements set down by the former committee:

--Knowledge of football.

--Personal experience in negotiating with football players.

“This eliminated the best prospects in America,” one owner said. “It knocked out 57 of the 58 names submitted by Heidrick and Struggles (a search firm)--everyone but Jack Kemp.”

Members of the new committee are Lamar Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs, Wellington Mara of the New York Giants, Al Davis of the Raiders, Mike Lynn of the Minnesota Vikings, John Cooke of the Washington Redskins and Ken Behring of the Seattle Seahawks.