Sometimes, change makes a situation worse BEFORE it gets better. You have to accept that the state of the program WAS worse than anyone knew to start with. Coaching, expectations, discipline, the level of talent (who cares what the talent level looked like on paper; reality is a different animal), culture in the locker room, support from the community and local schools, etc.... are just a few of the areas with serious problems. It wasn't and continues not to be an overnight fix... Mario made the tough decisions, some of which DID ultimately make the results on the field less than the fan base expected. The record is what it is. There are plenty of things to criticize about Mario and his staff; weeding out those who aren't willing to pull in the same direction is not one of them...
That's something I don't think many people on this board want to believe. It doesn't fit into what they believe SHOULD have been the path to winning big again.
I think you have to also factor in all the changes within CFB in the past couple of years and evaluate the state of the program for where it is.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who won't agree and that's their perogative.
Personally, I don't think the schedule is all that favorable this season. I think Miami got screwed as far as bye weeks and travel. Thankfully Bethune Cookman is sandwiched between ND, USF and UF. Some of the hardest games are going to fall in those last 7games - Louisville, NC State, Pitt, Syracuse, SMU and Va Tech- the last two on the road at Va Tech and Pitt.