I agree 100% that it's tough to say it's because of that. However, what are the optics? What will public opinion be. Most people on this board are basketball crazies that know the ins and outs. We're talking about your standard, run of the mill Texas fan. What will that look like and how would it be portrayed in the media? I would not want to be the UT AD right now. Again, this is all assuming that the scuttlebutt here the last couple of days actually has legs.
If I'm the Texas AD, Terry is my fallback choice. Even if you give him complete credit for this season with a team lead by 3 5th year Srs put together by a different coach, then looking at Terry's complete resume, I see impressive assistant, 7 seasons at Fresno State 1 NCAA tournament, no WAC titles, 3 years at UTEP, not good results.
I actually see it as quite the opposite, Terry is making his job easier. No one would take Rodney Terry over Nate Oats. If he can bring in Eric Musselman and his 2 Elite 8s and a Sweet 16 in the last 3 years, I'm sure his fanbase would be excited.
If he could bring in Jerome Tang, who has a 9 seed between him and a Final 4, then a 5 or 6 seed between him and the title game. Let's get crazy and say KSU wins it all. That would make KSU 29-9 and a national title in his 1st year as a head coach. Over the prior 3 seasons combined KSU has only won 34 games. That's one of the most impressive turnarounds I've ever heard of. You bring him, with his long standing Texas connections your fanbase is thrilled.
So Terry performing well gives him the ability to swing for the fences and if he strikes out, just say oh Terry has done so well he's earned the job and the fanbase will still be happy.
However, if Terry gets the job, the top 3 scorers and I believe #5 are gone since they've already played 5 years. They've got two 5 star guys coming in next year, don't think either have decommitted, but there is some rebuilding to be done. He's not going to have Beard's team for the rest of his career. So there is pretty big risk given his previous 10 years of results as a head coach.