There's two ways I'm looking at this:
A) the recruits this same brain trust had recruited and signed haven't done all that great - here or elsewhere. That's a problem. Especially since a lot of those guys were top-100 recruits. Who thinks that a team of KR, Jalen Carey, Goodine, Woody Newton, and Frank Anselem would be top-5 in the ACC just because they're upperclassmen? I'd take Kardary back, but the rest just weren't skilled or talented enough to thrive under JAB's system or any other coaching systems apparently. Not keeping them is a problem only because the head coach didn't have ambition to assemble a better roster other than picking up some new freshmen.
I have a hard time being optimistic that the group of kids brought in last season - despite them being mostly outside the top-100 or 200 - because they're different somehow. I need to see something more than The last few seasons of highly ranked recruits didn't pan out like we thought they would, but these lower ranked kids are different because we really really think these guys will make a leap.
B) The portal provides an incredible opportunity for roster overhaul, but you can't take in new transfers if the old players who already have a leg up with the staff don't leave. I think if there would be some other major impact transfers, there would have been more guys from last year's team find a new place if they're going to be relegated to the bench in favor of a fancy new transfer.
We'll see, I guess, but there's no reason to stick to a multi-season rebuilding plan these days.