Yeah, not sure who we missed out on we would have wanted or could have had
Nobody.
Seems like the short list would be:
Venables: Pros - Sexy, coached under hall of famers, big upside. Cons - Unproven as a HC
Patterson: Pros - proven track record of winning, Texas and K-State ties. Cons - sweaty, kinda dorky, shades of oscar but better at coaching. Unlikely he would come here.
Fleck: Pros - Sexy, shown he can win, young, big upside. Cons - lower level coach so still a gamble, kind of a dork but in a loveable way
Leavitt: Pros - HC success, knows defense. Cons - kinda old so who knows how long he would coach
Some people hate a couple of those guys, but really I think they would all be at least "good" hires.