I think it’s a bit of a fool’s errand to try to differentiate between how a “hard coup” and a “soft coup” may have played out. There was no Constitutional and legal way for Trump to retain the Presidency. Any “machinations” taken by Pence or Republicans in Congress to try to throw the electoral count to Trump or to the House for a vote would have been blatantly illegal under the Electoral Count Act (see this concurrent thread for some relevant discussion). Even if the Supreme Court for some reason decided to legitimize the coup, on January 20 each officer would have to decide what his or her oath to uphold and defend the Constitution means in these circumstances. And coups always come down to what the folks in uniform decide to do.