I recall an article where the coaches were quoted, but only under the grounds of complete anonymity. The gist of the quotes coming from other coaches was that Iowa was a real gem of a job, because as a coach you were allowed a bad year once in awhile since the expectations of the fan base were not so unrealistically high.
I think the “job security” factor of the Iowa head coaching job is very much envied by almost every other D1 & P5 coach that was interviewed. I think we could easily attract a successful up and coming coach. Probably not a coach who has already made their mark and are highly paid already, with a high profile job, but immediately underneath that tier, the Iowa job would get a LOT of interest and applicants.
Personally, I want the guy, Kleiman, (sp?) who was at North Dakota State who is at K State now. Success at a high level everywhere he has been. Yes, I would be willing to pay the steep buy-out clause in his current contract. It would be worth every penny.