Very few leaders, from professional sports coaches to Fortune 500 CEOs, keep their jobs after three straight losing seasons.

Nancy Pelosi has led House Democrats since 2003, bringing them out of the wilderness in 2006, taking them all the way to 256 seats after the 2008 elections only to oversee the drop to the current nadir of 188 members, the result of three straight elections of missing the majority mark.

The California Democrat, though, is not going anywhere. Her strong personal connections and fundraising prowess have secured her spot atop a caucus guided by seniority.

The truth is, no one can quite imagine who would replace her. And therein lies a problem.

“The Democratic side has not given fresh blood a real opportunity since I’ve been here,” said Rep. Michael E. Capuano, a Massachusetts Democrat elected to Congress in 1998.