I've answered this question many times: He does things the right way. He may not be a great X's and O's strategist, but he actually runs the team. Wade wasn't interested in being anything more than a friend and coordinator and the team spiraled out of control, like I knew it would when he was hired, because of it.
I would be very surprised if that happens with Garrett. He churns the roster, he benches players, he does actually make them practice harder (though this week's cancellation of practice was disconcerting), he makes them show up on time to meetings (that was one of the first changes he implemented when taking over for Phillips -- what a fucking joke that the previous head coach didn't even care about that.... because he was a fake, fraudulent imposter of a head coach), he at least PREACHES accountability and sends the right message, he implemented a dress code (which I like, it gets them thinking about being professionals). All those things should be what you expect out of a head coach, and we didn't get any of it out of Wade, because he's a joke, he is ACTUALLY one of the worst coaches in the league. That is what bad coaching looks like, not failure to get over the hump like we are currently struggling through. Those things matter, because as much as no one likes to hear it, they build character, they get people in the right mindset, and yes, over time, they do produce results (or at least prevent collapses).
It's true that Garrett has not run up a won-loss record that is better than Wade's was, nor has he gotten a playoff win, but I don't think that means that he's done an equal or worse coaching job. Wade took a team that was a Super Bowl contender on paper, left them on autopilot, and within 3 years they were ready to completely fall apart, and did so by going 1-7 to start 2010. It would not have gotten better. I suspect had Wade kept his job, these last 2 years would not have been 8-8s, they would have been 5-11s or worse.
In any case, I disagree about it not being reflected in the team's direction. The team has flattened out right now -- obviously not good enough -- but the arrow isn't pointed straight down like it was under Wade.