I heard Erin Grey and Gil whatshisname a while back, talking about the last season. "...and we were told the new director was really good, since he was the director that rode "Gunsmoke" into the sunset, and the last director of [another cancelled series], and he even shut down [yet another cancelled show]...."
"We asked, 'Are trying to tell us something????'"
Talk about the writing being on the wall.
That would be like a company bringing a new manager into your division; a manager who helped shut-down other divisions...