Examples:

• The coach was furious after the team lost their third game in a row. He warned the players that if they didn't start performing better, heads were going to roll.
• When the accounting scandal was uncovered, the board of directors knew that heads were going to roll. Several executives were fired and the company's reputation took a major hit.
• After the security breach, the IT department was in hot water. The CIO knew that heads were going to roll if they didn't figure out how to patch the vulnerability quickly.
• When the restaurant received a poor health inspection score, the manager knew that heads were going to roll. Several employees were fired and the restaurant's policies were revamped.
• The politician promised that if elected, heads were going to roll. She vowed to hold corrupt officials accountable and clean up the government.