I gotta say the easy/slam dunk hire for PF would be Pearl. Fans love him. He loves UT. He's proven and successful. If I were doing the hire, I'd go with Pearl and lay a huge buyout on him along with wording that covers our program of he steps out of line with the NCAA. If we get him, we hurt a competitor, we recruit well and quickly, we play exciting bb, fans are ecstatic and I bet we start winning again sooner rather than later.
Perfect outcome for everyone....which is why it won't happen. Everyone wins. Everyone would be happy. Not the UT way. Plus, the admin would never sign off on it.