The big problem is that there are many, many incompetent GMs who would make Petrie's last few years look like the work of an all-knowing entity. Geoff, over the last few years, has made some very poor decisions in FA and with trades. On the other hand, he's drafted very well. He's a relatively safe GM to have, won't do anything majorly stupid, but isn't going to be aggressive like he should be with a rebuilding team.
I'm quite happy to keep him given the other options out there and the Maloof's inability to hire. As has been pointed out, they're the biggest problems here. If Pritchard was available and willing, I'd have no problem letting Petrie go. He's proven that he's aggressive in aquiring young talent and picks, and competent in other areas. He also drafts very well. But that's just unlikely. I'd be very nervous about firing Geoff, you'd have to be absolutely sure you weren't replacing him with an idiot, and there have been plenty of them with GM jobs over the years.
In theory, I'd say Petrie isn't deserving of being here past the deadline, and gets until that point to show he recognizes his mistakes and is moving to correct them. We don't need a major move at the deadline, but show us something moving away from the direction he took this team this past summer, which was a smaller frontline and getting 1v1 players instead of role players which fit.
Now, the biggest problem, and why I said in theory, is that the Maloofs would be the ones doing the hiring. Every coach they've hired since Adelman has been a disaster. They have a terrible track record at hiring. Looking at the hires they've made since Adelman, I have little to no confidence they'd make a sound decision in replacing Petrie.
So while I think Petrie has failed us this past year, and taken the team away from the positive direction it was going late last season, he still not only has time to correct some of those moves(assuming he doesn't get the axe before the deadline), but also given the Maloofs track record, is better than any replacement they might bring in.
This organization has a lot of problems, but they all seem to stem from the same damn problem, the Maloofs wallet. I wish I knew who was more responsible for Westy's tenure. Was it heavy restrictions put on Petrie in the first place, and the Maloofs gave him an incredibly low budget to get a head coach, or was Westy the man the Maloofs wanted. Then, who kept him here for over 2 years? Was it more Petrie, who wanted Westy and continued to back that decision, or was it the Maloofs all the way, and simply didn't want to spend on another head coach?
I wish I knew, because if it was Petrie who wanted Westy, and it was Petrie who kept him here a few weeks into this season, then the complete lack of teaching/development/system over 2+ seasons falls at the feet of Petrie. If that were true, it's not just the last off season which was a disaster, but the last 2+ years as well. And if it was the Maloofs all the way, then I have even less confidence in their ability to hire a competent gm replacement, as they would have seriously hindered the development of our youngsters simply to save a couple million.