Maybe my phrasing was off, but you're misunderstanding my comment. Stepping into a CEO role means you're saying "I can turn this company around." If you fail at that, then you accept the blame. Don't want to catch blame? Don't accept "impossible" jobs.

Also: Yahoo! had a ton of resources in a rapidly-growing industry. I highly doubt turning Yahoo! around would be impossible. Hard, maybe. And maybe many people had already sort of given up the game and moved on to better things. But, again: If you're CEO, it's your responsibility to turn the company around. That's why you get the big bucks.