Robert Saleh follows in dubious London footsteps of these coaches

The bells of Westminster Abbey might as well sound funeral tolls for the tenures of NFL head coaches while in London. That’s because three coaches have now lost their jobs immediately after losing a game in the city over the last decade.

Robert Saleh, who lost on Sunday to the Vikings, follows in the dubious footsteps of Dennis Allen and Joe Philbin. The Raiders fired Allen in his third season following a 38-14 loss to Philbin’s Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in 2014. A year later, the Dolphins fired Philbin in his fourth season after a 27-14 loss to Todd Bowles’ Jets at Wembley in 2015.

Unlike the Jets this week, both the Raiders and Dolphins had bye weeks following their London games.

After leaving the Raiders, Allen rejoined the Saints as defensive coordinator, resurrected Sean Payton’s defense, and replaced the legendary coach at the New Orleans helm after Payton temporarily retired following the 2021 season. Allen’s team (2-3) sustained a tough loss at Kansas City on Monday night.

Philbin resurfaced as assistant head coach with the Colts and Packers, and became Green Bay’s interim head coach in 2018 after the Packers fired Mike McCarthy. After stints with the Cowboys and Ohio State, he’s now the Raiders’ senior offensive assistant.

Jets fans, look away: Since the Raiders and Dolphins made those respective moves, their franchises are a combined 147-170 (.464), including 0-5 in the playoffs, with a minus-74 turnover margin.

When Miami made the change in 2015, its interim head coach became a budding star in the coaching industry, Dan Campbell.

Doug Pederson is in London preparing Jacksonville (1-4) for a Sunday game (9:30 a.m. ET, NFLN) against Matt Eberflus and the Bears (3-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Saleh coached his last Jets game. For a second straight season, the NFL scheduled Jacksonville for consecutive weeks in London. The Jaguars meet New England at Wembley Stadium in Week 7. Pederson won both London games in 2023.

Saleh’s defensive pedigree will likely land a defensive coordinator role at some point in the near future, should he choose to return to the NFL. His defenses have been outstanding both in San Francisco and New York.

His former boss Kyle Shanahan tried to lure away Saleh’s Jets defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, prior to the season. Ulbrich is now the Jets’ interim head coach.

Ulbrich makes his head-coaching debut on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) at home against Buffalo (3-2).