The plan thing sounds good in theory. I'm not sure how all that really plays out in reality. In this day and age, with agents and the money that is tossed around, it's hard to set up succession plans. Wasn't Muschamp coach in waiting at Texas? Wasn't there some plan announced to the public to replace Boeheim, and going further back, Lute Olson at AZ?
90% of the time, these AD's and people signing off on the hire are winging once they cut someone loose. Because often times, when there is a plan, another school has the same plan. All the while, agents and coaches are spreading disinformation and bluffing to sweeten their pot. It's often a game of dominoes and pure luck.
When Pitt makes a coaching change in football, their routes are fairly limited as who they can realistically get. 1) a perceived up & comer at a non-P5 conference who isn't yet very established or well compensated 2) A P5 coordinator 3) retread (either college or NFL) That's what they are going to get EVERY time. And the next guy up is going to face the same recruiting challenges and have the same ceiling. Add in new staff, new system, severed recruiting relationships, players that leave... It's a pretty good bet the program would take a step back before it moved forward. Not to mention that all this comes with an added financial cost.
The current product isn't that bad. At least you can go to games knowing Pitt is going to bring a fight and be in the game late with a chance to win against almost any team they play. Obviously there are a few exceptions, but if a team is going to blow Pitt out, they have to be pretty damn good.
Eventually, Pitt will put together a season where they will win a few more of those 50/50 games and they will get their 9 or 10 win season. They still aren't going to be talented enough to do anything really special though.
At least that's my 2 cents of Pitt football.