Simply stated, hoop coach Mike Brey should be terminated if his Irish fail to make the NCAA tournament for a fourth straight year. And based upon recent history, that seems almost a foregone conclusion.

But any measuring stick you care to use, Brey had been a major underachiever over the last three seasons. His program has been overtaken by stagnation and deterioration. Though not exactly in a freefall, the Irish are certainly descending. There's no denying they're headed in the wrong direction.

And this disturbing plunge, in no small part, falls directly at the feet of Brey.

Entering his seventh season at South Bend, Brey can be assaulted on many fronts. Like us all, Brey has his faults and as it relates to basketball, they are extremely pronounced. 

You can go down a checklist of areas where Brey has double-dribbled.

His recruiting has been spotty and inconsistent. He's failed to develop a deep and reliable bench. His game and clock management has, at times, been downright atrocious. His performance in the Big East tournament isn't even worthy of Off-Broadway.

Believe it or not, there are still plenty more negatives to detail.

Far too often, his teams fold at crunch time. His ability to fully develop and maximize a player's skills is definitely in question. No one he's recruited has ever been drafted by the NBA. He's never made the Big Dance with a roster composed solely of those he imported. Sometimes he's tardy in recognizing genuine talent and allows it to wallow as in the case of Russell Carter. 

It's easy to see that when it comes to Brey's shortcomings, the beat goes on.

And that's unfortunate because at one time, he seemed on the verge of stardom.

Brey's first three years at the Irish helm were productive and encouraging. He advanced to the NCAA's in each of those seasons and even made the Sweet 16 in 2003.

At that time, the Irish program seemed to have some real momentum. And Brey had the look of a coach who was going places. But looks can be deceiving and since that nice postseason run ND made a while ago, Brey's future has gone from bright to cloudy.

No longer can he be considered a sure thing. Real doubt and skepticism should be raised over his recent results.

As of late, about the only thing Brey has done well is to look good in a turtleneck. He does deserve credit for being rather stylish on the sideline.

But that's nothing to hang your hat on unless you're Blackwell.

In this reporter's opinion, Brey's been given a hall pass. Inexplicably, nearly everyone has gone easy on him. The administration has bent over backwards to ignore his flaws while the press has been very hesitant to roast him. Even the Irish faithful, sometimes known for its' fickle nature, has been slow to get on Brey.

Some of this kid-glove treatment may stem from the fact that by all accounts Brey is an accessible, likeable and classy guy. It's difficult to honestly evaluate, judge or slam someone that's earned your respect and admiration.

But the time for niceties is over. Accountability must be the order of the day. Brey must be assessed as would any other employee. And if he isn't getting the job done, which he hasn't been, he should be shown the door.

Brey's defenders, of which there have been many, have offered a litany of excuses to explain why he's struggled as of late. Among the factors they cite are academics, inferior facilities, a taxing schedule and a brutal conference.

In their myopic and misguided world, he deserves credit for managing to keep the program afloat in the midst of these supposed impediments. To them, he has performed competently.

But that's just the point. Notre Dame basketball should never be merely adequate or acceptable. It should excel and consistently be among the top 25 programs in the country. It should aspire to true greatness and never be satisfied with repeated mediocrity.

Yet, that's exactly what Brey has given them. A team mired in the middle-of-the-pack of the Big East. Nothing to be embarrassed about but certainly nothing to be proud of either.

An average team coached by an average coach. The Irish should thirst for something much more ambitious.

If Brey's slump should continue and yet he stays on the Irish payroll, then it will be more than reasonable to start questioning the school's commitment to its' hoop program. Staying with a bad hand would indicate that basketball carries a low priority. That message could devastate the sport in South Bend.

Isn't it interesting that when the football program was visibly hemorrhaging and its' fortunes sagging, the powers-that-be made a gutsy call to rid themselves of Ty Willingham. It's proven to be an inspired decision.

If the Irish should miss the NCAA tournament again, their hoop program will be in a similar state of disrepair. Hanging onto Brey would be hard to justify in the wake of Willingham's firing.

This reporter lost a ton of respect for Brey when a couple of years ago he made a startling pronouncement. Brey claimed that given the cyclical nature of the college game and Notre Dame's place in it, the Irish had to accept the fact that they would periodically miss the Big Dance.

Imagine, Brey was saying for all to hear that the Irish weren't good enough to be a perennial participant in the tournament. Who knows what kind of damaging impact that may have had on not only his existing players but on those contemplating joining the Fighting Irish.

It was the statement of a loser. They were the words of someone covering his ass in the event he couldn't make it into the field of 64. It was an alibi coming from a coach long on excuses and short on confidence. It was hardly Brey's finest hour.

Notre Dame doesn't need someone who harbors such feelings. What it requires is a coach with some chutzpah, a true believer who thinks in terms of the possibilities that Notre Dame offers instead of the obstacles it supposedly presents.

Mike Brey earned lots of capital when he got off  to a fast start at ND but my, how things have changed. He's wasted it all. The bank account is down to zero.

No more explanations, rationalizations, apologies or excuses will buy him any more time. The countdown has started.

Come March Madness, the Irish better be among the dancers. If not, Brey had best find himself a new job because the braying at him will have developed into a frightful roar.