I am not sure I understand your point on Iowa becoming a stepping stone program by hiring a young up and comer who won big at the MAC, FCS or DII level?
There is a pecking order among all schools. We have had 2 coaches in 30+ years so that does not scream stepping stone school. For a coach to move it depends on many factors including money, resources, aspirations, expectations, challenges, prestige of the school, age, family, etc. Hypothetically if we have a coach but OSU, FLA, USC, Bama, Texas, etc. come calling we could lose him. Would that immedaitely make us a stepping stone?
Not sure what your point on Kelly is by listing his stop and success at Cincinnati? You leave out his DII titles and his MAC titles at Central Michigan. Meyer won big at Bowling Green before winning big at Utah before winning big at FLA and now OSU. I can go through the same thing with Harbaugh and Kill if you want?
The greater point is you can find a future great coach by taking a look at those who are having big success at the MAC, FCS, DII level and often multiple stops along this path. The quick list of those coaches above demonstrate this success trajectory. You are talking a very small pool of candidates that fit this profile and a good AD has to vet out each to see if they are truly a good candidate and fit.
A candidate fitting this profile will command less money to start. If they work out we have a proven pocket book to move them up should we choose. If they do not work, we can move on with a smaller buy out.