Here is what I understand: We want our biases to be confirmed. We all here about Ohio State, Bama, etc and how great they are, so over time, people just assume these programs deserve and will get the best.
Despite that, there are coaches that stay at a place and do wonderful things. What makes Manhattan, Kansas so great? Nothing, but a coach wanted to stay there and build a program and now we don't hear about KSU being a stepping stone. Same with Iowa. Love him or hate him, KF took over a bad Iowa program and now they usually have consistently over .500 seasons with some great seasons mixed in. Keep in mind KF took his name out of consideration for other jobs, including the NFL.
Why wouldn't someone plain be happy in Ames and want to build this program the same as any other program? Like a previous post says, CMC may leave after this year, or may retire here, but this place isn't any different than Manhattan or IC, they just haven't had enough to success to warrant not being a stepping stone. A few more years like this and Herbstreit will be talking about what a great place Ames is and what a solid program has turned into.
Most don't have the ability to think outside of their biases and that is all he is doing.
As long as CMC is here, we will support him and this team and hope he sticks around for years to come.