The "need a coach who hasn't just won at the best job in conference" argument is silly to me. I
If you are a well regarded coach, either as a head coach at a lower level or as an assistant, I would suspect you would be somewhat picky about which jobs you take because you know you'll likely have options.
Kelsey was highly regarded as an assistant at both Wake under Prosser (then Gaudio after Prosser passed away) then Xavier under Chris Mack. So it makes sense that he wouldn't just jump at the first bottom third of a mid major conference job that was available. Now obviously some guys just want to be head coach as soon as they can so would make the jump, but its perfectly reasonable that others, especially those like Kelsey, would be more selective as going to a bad job and not performing well can really hinder potential ascension in the coaching ranks, especially when we're talking about someone who took the HC job in the mid 30s.
Kelsey would be an absolute homerun of a hire, and getting him would signify a stronger commitment for a number of reasons. One, it'd probably take a good chunk to lure him here over other available openings, but also if he's a guy that is selective, it likely means he's been sold on a plan that would allow him to be competitive here. Any P5 conference team can sell that, and GT is located in a great place for basketball. The only real reason we aren't seen as a better program is recent performance, which is at least in part tied to lack of investment. If we were to land Kelsey it would almost certainly guarantee that we've decided to invest more into the program so it would address that point.
Hunter is probably my personal "bar" for what I would want to fire Pastner to land. If we knew we were going to hire Hunter, I'd say make the move. Anyone less than Hunter and I'd say we're probably better off waiting a year and hoping either Pastner turns it around or we're in a better position to make a move then. HE oversaw the transition of IUPUI from NAIA to Div 1 and ended with 7 consecutive years of at least .500 ball in conference (4 of them well above .500) and then did a great job at State before going to Tulane where he seems to have them on an upward trajectory in year 4. There are some things that would make me not as big a fan as some others, like his age and lack of experience in a P5 conference in any capacity, but his history of success and some ties to the region make him worth it to make a move for.