reading this reminded me of a Bill Simmons column and a point he has referenced multiple times over the years - his 5 year rule.
Here are some excerpts from the column - its written for support of professional teams so its not 100% applicable and I'm sure many would not agree
The point I've always gone by is the 5 year rule - and I apply that to final fours in college basketball, not championships.
After your team wins a championship, they immediately get a five-year grace period: You can't complain about anything that happens with your team (trades, draft picks, salary-cap cuts, coaching moves) for five years. There are no exceptions. For instance, the Pats could finish 0-80 over the next five years and I wouldn't say a peep. That's just the way it is. You win the Super Bowl, you go on cruise control for five years. Everything else is gravy.
Don't boo your team unless it's absolutely warranted -- like with the brutal Knicks situation this season, or if you're hoping to get a coach fired or a specific player traded or something. When you think about it, what's the purpose of booing your team? If you're trying to inspire them, usually you end up sending them into a deeper funk -- odds are, your team already knows it's struggling. And if you're trying to light a fire under a specific player, usually you end up making him even more nervous and tentative. So why boo in the first place? Trust me, dead silence sends a bigger message than anything. And it's not potentially destructive.
It's OK to root against your team, if they're hopelessly out of the playoff race and you want them to keep losing so A) they'll get a better draft pick, or B) you're hoping the coach and/or GM will get fired. Don't feel bad about it.
No hopping on and off the bandwagon during the season with the flip-flop, "I knew we were going to self-destruct! ... All right, we won six straight! ... I knew we wouldn't keep playing this well. ... I knew we would bounce back!" routine as the season drags along. Just for the record, this is probably my biggest fault as a sports fan -- I overreact to everything. I've already written off the Celtics three different times this season, and I've given up on Antoine Walker roughly 435 times over the past six years. Can I get some medication for this?
So I have some criteria for a coach at UK
Must haves (absolutes)
1. Final Four at least once every 5 years, the resulting assumption means a title every 10 years
2. Maintain all time wins
Wants but not absolutes (assuming 1 & 2 are being met)
3. Win SEC championship at a clip > than SEC counterparts
4. No mounting embarrassing losses - once every 3 or 4 years, OK, but
blow out loss to Duke? followed by a loss to Evansvilles at Rupp, followed by this season? not no but hell no
(this makes our program a punch line and its completely unacceptable)
5. Win at least one marquee matchup each year outside of Louisville - which means UNC, Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Michigan St, (insert current hot program now such as Gonzaga)
That's what I expect from any coach at UK, regardless of what he has done prior for us. Cal is paid well to have UK perform at a high level every year, not just what he did when he was dialed in 7 years ago.