If you look at a list of NCAA coaches and salaries, there are some interesting names below Fred's--at least IMO. Some with midwestern ties. I don't follow college baseketball enough to know a ton about their personalities and coaching styles--and how much *more* than their current salary it would take to get anyone to jump might be a problem. But definitely some currently being paid less with consistently solid postseason track records.
Mick Cronin - Cincinatti
Tony Bennett - Virginia (Wisconsin native)
Dana Altman - Oregon (Nebraska native, but would imagine Oregon to be about as sweet a gig as there is)
Mark Few - Gonzaga (surprised how far down the list he is, given results... but is from Oregon & looks like basically started his career at Gonzaga so perhaps money isn't a deciding factor)
If I'm JP and have a top 10 team coming back, I swing for the fences.
All that said, when Larry Eustachy came here he hadn't won a single postseason game as a head coach. I don't think many would argue 99-00 and 00-01 were the pinnacle of ISU basketball to date. (As good as Fred has been, Larry lost 11 games in those two seasons put together.)
So given that any choice is somewhat of a crapshoot along with TJ's involvement of laying the foundation of what's working now and proven recruiting record I wouldn't be devastated if he took over the reins. I would certainly like to see him stay on staff. As a mostly-ignorant bystander I think I'd rather see him do what he seems to do best (recruit) and get someone who's proven themselves as a head coach to run the show... but since JP is much closer to the situation I'll trust his judgement.