Robert Saleh's firing looks ironic after loss to the Vikings

When it comes to expectations, no Minnesota Vikings team had more expectations placed upon it than the 2010 team. The Vikings were coming off an appearance in the NFC Championship Game and Brett Favre was returning to bring Minnesota to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1970s.

Even Favre admitted that “the pieces are in place” to get the job done and the Vikings failed miserably, slumping to a 6-10 record.

Fourteen years later, the New York Jets are on their way to producing a sequel. Like a fine Broadway play, the Jets’ season has been filled with drama. The latest chapter was written when they fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday morning, following in the footsteps of one of the most disappointing seasons in Vikings history.

Think about that 2010 season. Favre joined the Vikings in 2009 after a lost year in New York and shocked everyone by throwing for 4,202 yards with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Placed into a loaded infrastructure that included future Hall of Famers Jared Allen and Adrian Peterson, the Vikings took off and made it to the NFC Championship.

At 41 years old, it wasn’t a given that Favre would return for a 20th season. But the Vikings sent a private jet to Hattiesburg, Miss. and Favre climbed aboard for one final year. 

A loss to in an NFC Championship rematch with the New Orleans Saints wasn’t problematic but a home loss to the Miami Dolphins the following week set off the alarm. The Vikings defeated the Detroit Lions at home the following week but something wasn’t quite right as they headed into the bye.

Staring their shot at a Super Bowl in the face, the Vikings traded for Randy Moss to replace the injured Sidney Rice, who delayed hip surgery in pursuit of a new contract. Favre was found to send inappropriate photos to sideline reporter Jenn Sterger and Moss’s return to Minnesota didn’t go as planned as he lasted four games before Brad Childress decided to cut him.

The Vikings continued to freefall after losing three of their next four games and needed a 14-point comeback to defeat the Arizona Cardinals in overtime. Minnesota lost the next week to the Chicago Bears and a 31-3 home loss to the Green Bay Packers convinced the Wilf family to fire Childress just over a year after signing a contract extension worth $4 to $5 million per season.

The final month of the season included a pair of wins over Washington and Buffalo but also had more off-the-field issues. The Metrodome collapsed, forcing the Vikings to play a home game against the New York Giants in Detroit and Favre was knocked out on the frozen turf at Huntington Bank Stadium during what would be the final game of his career against the Chicago Bears.

The season was a disaster considering the expectations placed on the Vikings that season and it’s eerily similar to what the Jets have going on right now.

Robert Saleh's firing looks ironic after loss to the Vikings

The Jets had a similar infrastructure to the 2009 Vikings in that they had a strong defense led by Sauce Gardner and promising players on offense including Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson. After Sam Darnold and Zach Wilson failed to become a franchise quarterback, the Jets decided they were a quarterback away by trading for Rodgers in 2023.

The Jets’ march to the Super Bowl was delayed a year when Rodgers tore his Achilles in 2023 but his reportedly quick recovery suggested he would be all systems go this season. But his decision to take a trip to Egypt instead of reporting to a mandatory minicamp drew headlines and he and Wilson never seemed to be on the same page.

Like Favre and Childress, Rodgers seemed to have a disconnect with Robert Saleh staring him down after a touchdown in a win over the New England Patriots and suggesting he hold players accountable after Saleh suggested his cadence was an issue with the offense.

The issues persisted in the Vikings 23-17 win over the Jets on Sunday morning but it could be just the beginning. Davante Adams, who was Rodgers’s top target dating back to his days with the Packers, has requested a trade and could be the same desperate lever the Vikings pulled when trading for Moss.

The struggles of Rodgers should also be considered. At age 41, Rodgers is posting his lowest success rate – defined as when a play gains 40 percent of yards needed on first down, 60 percent of required yards on second down and 100 percent of required yards on third and fourth down – and completion percentage since 2019 and his 81.6 passer rating is currently the lowest of his career.

The Jets also have an off-the-field battle ensuing with Hasson Reddick, who was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles but hasn’t played due to a contract dispute.

Through all of this, the Jets still have a chance to be a playoff team, sitting one game behind the Buffalo Bills in the AFC East heading into Monday’s matchup in Week 6 but they also feel light years behind other AFC contenders such as the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.

It makes it almost ironic that Saleh’s last game with the Jets was a loss to the Vikings. While we shouldn’t expect MetLife Stadium to crumble to the ground, there are plenty of similarities between this Jets team and the one that crumbled for the Vikings in 2010. It makes firing Saleh a desperate move and one that could have more developments as the season moves along.

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