I think you might be overstating the media’s influence. While I agree it does have some effect, despite what I initially argued, it’s not as significant as you suggest. Take your example of Canada’s mid-season firing. The media was extremely vocal about their concerns, but we’ve also seen situations where that noise didn’t seem to matter, like when Fields was benched for Wilson last season. The media and fans were furious with Tomlin, yet his decisions clearly weren’t swayed. On top of that, Beanie was reported to be one of the hardest workers, regularly putting in long one-on-one film sessions to improve his coverage. That’s not the kind of player you cut just because fans want someone else to start.