If I've gathered my information correctly, these were both one year rollovers of existing contracts. Certainly a contract extension by definition, but not really a major renegotiation of multiple years with a higher rate of pay. It's pretty customary for coaches to get some type of rollover after a good season (in this case, a bowl win and an NIT appearance).
Many were calling for a major extension for Herrion last season because many though he was going to take a bigger job. Thus, more years on his deal here would mean a bigger buyout windfall for us. With the benefit of hindsight, it's great we didn't do a major renegotiation of Herrion's deal when many called for it. Just the same, with the benefit of hindsight, it was probably a mistake to give him a rollover, but, at the same, time that's a customary thing after a good year.
I have zero issue with a one year rollover for Doc. Can't compare the situation he took over to the one Herrion took over. Doc had to destroy what Snyder had "built" and completely construct our program. The wins haven't come yet, but I think his construction job has been close to masterful. The extra year just takes away any ammo other teams could have used against us regarding Doc's job security for another year. Again, in my opinion, no issue with Doc's rollover.
These extensions really don't change much. Both coaches have a ton to prove. Both could easily and quickly be on the hot seat. These rollovers were much more like hedged bets than massive contract extensions.