re: Realistic options for Texas

Actually the NFL is "way more work". The NFL doesn't have the limitations on practice that college does. It's 24/7 365. There is no break.

More than that though, the NFL is built for parity. If you win, you get a crappy draft pick and your best players all get raises that put salary cap pressure on you. Your roster is already only 53 players as it is so an injury or two is devastating. You have to prepare for a LOT more games when you count regular season, pre season, and playoffs and there are no easy games.

In college, once you have built a program it is something you can maintain. Even in the SEC you usually only have a few really difficult games for the most part by comparison to the NFL if you have a strong program. The more success you have, the easier your job gets because the top talent is interested in you to begin with. It's certainly no cakewalk but it is less work than the NFL.