I think it's hard for some to admit that sports figures they admire are flawed.
And JB has been here for 46+ years as the head coach. For many posters, he's been at the helm longer than they've been alive. It is very difficult to imagine Syracuse basketball without him -- and his accomplishments, records, achievements, etc. speak for themselves with respect to his HOF career.
I also think that some have gotten accustomed to JB always pulling a rabbit out of his hat with respect to team performance. So, while we might struggle through a lackluster regular season and barely make the tournament, we then go on to make a F4 run [like 2016], or knock off a heavily favored #3 seed like Tyus did, and it "offsets" the disappointment of the subpar regular season.
Let's face it -- until recently, JB has been nothing if not a model of consistency. His small handful of WORST seasons across those 4+ decades have been NIT teams; he's never had a losing record in a season... although that's certainly in jeopardy this year. So because of that, it seems that some always expect that in the end, JB will find a way.
Which is why this year, it's hard for some to accept that he might not be able to conjure some magic with this team. I also think that there's an element of orange blinders for some, who just aren't willing to acknowledge what many others see -- namely, that the program has slipped several notches, that it's been an extended period of decline, and that the HOF'er may have hung on a bit too long and just won't be able to turn things around this time.
They view it as an attack on the icon, instead of an honest acknowledgement of where the program currently is, and what the reasons for the decline are.