Give a coach five years. Bona fide.

If he is going to do it right, a coach needs five years to get a program established, meaning that he needs to be able to have his own recruits as seniors. If, at that point, he hasn't got the job done, then bring down the ax. But each coach has his system and his personality, and he is going to recruit players who fit both. Sometimes it takes time for things to come together. Short of some ethical lapse or other really glaring deficiency, a school ought to be willing to be that patient with a man whom they entrusted with their program. Four years before his first national championship team, John Wooden's Bruins were 14-12, culminating a three-year run with 16 wins or less each year.

If a coach feels like he is under pressure to win in too big of a hurry, he may be tempted to take shortcuts. At best that makes him  build a team in some way other than the best way. At worse it may tempt him to compromise his (and the school's) ethics.