What does "this team is not responding to Karl any more, so he has to go" MEAN, really?
Is it an acknowledgment that the players aren't trying to win playing under Karl, or some other rationalization which doesn't accept the obvious?
How is it not a tacit admission that this team is deliberately not playing up to their abilities (in other words, deliberately trying not to win)?
Why would they magically play better for a new coach, unless they are deliberately playing bad under Karl, presumably because "they've tuned him out"?