Different situation, though

Tom Osborne was all but guaranteed to get the Cornhuskers a Top 10 finish, year after year. With the exception of a four year stretch (they were still top 20), he pretty much finished in the top 10, and occasionally the top 5, every year. That will definitely buy a lot of patience with the faithful. I'm not sure if there were a more consistently excellent coach during the entire history of college football at the IA / FBS level.

Brian Kelly has had several excellent seasons now, but only two were top 5, and until this year, we were stuck in the stage of "can compete for a top 10 finish."