Let's face it, there was a much higher probability of Kiffin succeeding at USC and that likely played a part in his decision to leave. USC is one of the few programs more prestigious than UT. If USC didn't have a head coach it would still wind up with a top-10 recruiting class every year. And on top of everything else, it's in a relatively weak conference that just expanded and got weaker.
If Lane can't win there, he would not be winning here. With a virtually limitless supply of athletes, a killer staff, and an institution in a position to automatically get 9 wins a year he is struggling. There's no way we would be competing had he been here.