PITTSBURGH — How long are we going to do this?

I'm talking, of course, about Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, his job status and why Fenway Sports Group seems allergic to change.

It's hard to imagine how this situation in another city or sport doesn't result in a coach getting fired or substantive changes.

Instead, it's become our own version of Groundhog Day, the Penguins making the same mistakes, blowing leads and seemingly ignoring the guy in charge.

The latest evidence came Tuesday night when the Penguins coughed up a two-goal lead and suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to the Lightning at PPG Paints Arena.

It was the eighth time that's happened in 21 games for the Penguins (7-10-4) and the fifth time it has resulted in a loss. They're last in the NHL in goals allowed (83), goal differential (-26) and situational awareness — and I'm not talking anything on the ice, although that has also stunk.

This whole scenario has become downright sad, the Penguins either unwilling or unable to execute Sullivan's orders and the most successful coach in franchise history looking more frustrated by the day.

"We have to compete harder," Sullivan said, seething. "We need more guys to compete harder and pay more attention to detail, and we need to take more pride in playing defense."

The vitriol surrounding Sullivan is obviously at an all-time high, but I'd like to logically discuss what we're looking at here.

Sullivan's a two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach. He's among the best in the NHL and will have zero trouble getting hired elsewhere. It's also impossible to understand why he still has a job here.

Yes, both can be true.

More than any other sport, hockey players eventually tune out the guy in charge. It happened with Michel Therrien. It happened with Dan Bylsma. And it occurred countless times before them, both in Pittsburgh and throughout the NHL.

If that's not what has happened here, at minimum we can agree Sullivan's players have not responded to his leadership or the message being delivered.

My concern is how long this has been allowed to continue.

It's not the best thing for anyone involved.

For the fans and the product, clearly.

It also can't be terribly enjoyable for Sullivan, who was as mad as I've seen him after the Lightning loss.

It's easy to blame the Penguins for blowing another lead on Sullivan, and I get it — to a degree. He's in charge. He must be held accountable for the performance of his team.

But Sullivan isn't a bad hockey coach. Far from it. It's simply the case that his time here has run its course, and, well, you can't fire all of the players.

So why has FSG allowed this to continue?

We know the Boston-based ownership group thinks the world of Sullivan. We also know Sullivan isn't stupid and cares a great deal about the Penguins.

The problem has been the lack of results and a season that has spiraled out of control, not to mention an awkward and ugly situation that's getting worse instead of better.

Firing Sullivan at this point almost feels like doing the guy a favor, allowing him to either pursue the new opening in Boston with the Bruins firing Jim Montgomery or otherwise taking the rest of the season to recalibrate and choose his next move.

In Pittsburgh, it would allow time to see how the Penguins respond to a new voice, valuable intel that could help president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas navigate the future of the Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang Era.

If the Penguins respond the way they did when Sullivan took over for Mike Johnston, perhaps this entire thing becomes remotely salvageable. If they don't, well, at least you know that bigger changes will be necessary.

The next step would probably be to either tab Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Kirk MacDonald or David Quinn for the job. The first has more familiarity with the Penguins' younger players, a group that has seen its role increase this season. The second has been an NHL head coach with two franchises (Rangers and Sharks).

Both men were hired by Dubas, and turning to either one would send a message to Penguins players that this is now on them.

More than any level of frustration surrounding Sullivan and the plethora of problems the Penguins have experienced, it's honestly hard not to feel bad for the guy at this point. He's a proud, competitive guy, a tireless worker and someone who should be remembered for doing so much good around here.

Sullivan's ability to press the right buttons and unite his players around a common goal was a defining part of the Penguins' back-to-back Cup runs.

But the stubbornness shown by FSG has only compounded the problem, repeated issues that have clearly worn on Sullivan while muddying the true size of the problem surrounding this team right now.

While the loyalty is respectable on some levels, it has unfortunately crossed over into mismanagement of a once-proud franchise, creating a negative situation for all involved.

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