I would hardly say all of the last 10 have been a disaster ?
Regardless if you liked SA or not he did win 2 Big Ten tourney titles, finished second in the conference one year (25 wins + undeafted at home) and third another year. Yes he and his team had their fair share of issues but it was not the disaster that Lick has produced even though he seems like a great guy.
Knight did a solid job at Texas Tech but it's not like he was dominating the Big 12. Come on now this is the hire that would give Iowa the best road to long term success,,,,, really ? Why aren't other teams knocking down his door then ?