Saban, Meyer or Belichick I assume.
Yup. They had a legitimate shot at Saban before Strong was hired, but meddling "boosters of substance" let the news get out, and Saban angrily ended talks.
Texas is Texas. Their athletic department pulls in $187 million in revenue each year. They could afford to pay a head coach anything they liked. They're the ultimate dumb rich kid. And the thing about being the dumbest, richest kid on the block, means you don't settle for a Mustang GT when you could get a Nissan GT-R (or insert other elite sports car as you like, being rich means never having to justify your wants).
Herman was another flash-in-the-pan mid-major coach, and just like Charlie Strong, there's no guarantee that will translate to success on the big-boy stage. Just look at Strong. Just look at Herman's first season. No Horn fans I know are saying he was a home-run hire.