Mickey isn't innocent here. Not defending Dennis here, because obviously none of us know what internal discussions were like this past offseason. But it's so clear that Mickeys hands are incredibly dirty in all of this.
Yeah, ML thought that a guy with a 29% all-time winning percentage could stumble along with enough mediocrity for the next few years to enable him to avoid the work needed to do a coaching overhaul and semi roster re-tool.
The most dangerous thing in pro sports is an out of touch GM with no fear of repercussions.