Bill Hodges is the ultimate example of this. He took Indiana State to the National Championship game in his first season as a head coach. How could you ever get a hotter start than that?
Next three seasons he had a Tang-like trajectory, going 2-14 in conference his last season. Resigned/fired, despite still having an overall winning record. A lot like Tang.
Couldn't get a D-I head coaching job, and after some time as an assistant at Long Beach State, he ended up at NAIA Georgia State, and did well enough to get another D-1 chance with Mercer. Classic redemption arc right?
In 6 seasons with Mercer he went 62-107, did not make a single tournament, and never won more than 15 games.
The plus side, he retired with a winning Tournament record (3-1, all from that first season) so I guess he's better than BU?