Second, fans can start publicly questioning the program, as they did at the Indiana game. The University community, especially alumni, can significantly affect administrative decisions. Sometimes the decision makers at the top need a little nudge. When a program suffers like Michigan's, the fans look to the coach. The coach should be the stable force.
Players leave, coaches stay.
One thinks of Dean Smith, not Michael Jordan, when talking about North Carolina basketball. Fans look around the country and identify Pitino as currently available. Ellerbe may indeed take the fall for some problems he had little control over. Everyone knows this program needs changes. And if the athletic department officials don't know that yet, the fans will continue to remind them.