Monte was a great coach, but never was a head coach and we have no idea if he could have run a program. We are in a unique situation for programs that have had any success since 1960 (when Minnesota last won a national title). The number of teams that are not in a talent rich state or adjacent to one is very small (Colorado, Washington, sorta BYU, and Nebraska), and we're the only one to have done it more than once.
Bama can switch coaches whenever they want and not lose their chances at winning a national title in 4-5 years. We can't let a top coach walk to the comfy recruiting locales of Florida and hope that any assistant (even someone like Kiffin) could keep things going