Unfortunately, very few coaches or athletes get it like TO did. John Elway got it, but Aikman did not. Montana did not. Hell even Jordan didn't get it. It's better to go out on top and be thought of as a God, than stay too long and have your memory stomped on.
You bet, I believe whole heartedly that TO knew we were gonna have some huge problems. I think his miscalculation was that NU would give FS the same graces they gave him, allowing him several years to fit his groove and get things accomplished. It was a bait and trap if you will. The AD didn't want to hire FS, but TO knew that if he didn't play his power card his entire old staff would be without jobs. Due to his loyalty to his old staff, he played that power card. I'm not saying anything he did was wrong, but look at where we are now.
If you remember right, Byrne wanted Bob Stoops. Who knows where we'd be if we had everything to do all over again. Maybe worse. It's all just speculation at this point!