Analysis: Spats, shoves, snubs and snapbacks have ruled the NFL sidelines in 2024

Some of the NFL's biggest moments of late have come not on the field but the sideline.

Spats. Shoves. Snubs. Snapbacks.

It started with Aaron Rodgers refusing a bro hug from Robert Saleh after a touchdown in September before things went sour at the the New York Jets training center.

Two instigators who raised eyebrows in Week 6 quickly backtracked with Maxx Crosby denying his two-handed shove to the chest of an assistant Raiders coach was out of malice and Eagles coach Nick Sirianni apologizing for taunting his own fanbase at the Linc following a narrow win over the Browns.

Jerry Jones had a very unhappy 82nd birthday watching his Cowboys' fourth straight home loss, a 47-9 thrashing from the Detroit Lions. But Jones said after the worst home loss since he bought the team in 1989 that he's not considering dumping coach Mike McCarthy like Woody Johnson canned Saleh five days earlier.

Dallas' home skid includes lopsided losses to the Packers in the playoffs and the Saints this season along with a 28-25 loss to the Ravens after falling behind 28-6.

So, Saleh's stunningly early pink slip heading into Week 6 with the Jets just one game out of first place in the AFC East didn't lead to any copycats like so many other things in NFL do — at least not right away.

Rodgers and Saleh made light of their awkward moment in the aftermath of their rout of the Patriots, but the laugh track ended following two subsequent ugly offensive performances in back-to-back losses and Saleh was shown the exit as he was preparing the Jets for their showdown against the Bills on Monday night.

Rodgers insisted he played no role in Saleh's firing, which came as Saleh was reportedly considering stripping Nathaniel Hackett of his offensive play-calling duties, something Jeff Ulbrich did in his first major move as interim head coach on Thursday.

Ulbrich replaced Hackett with Todd Downing, the Jets’ passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Hackett — who is close to Rodgers from their time together in Green Bay — chose to remain with the team and retained his offensive coordinator title.

Rodgers, who nearly had his first 300-yard passing game since 2021 in New York's 23-20 loss to Buffalo on Monday night that dropped them to 2-4, said during the week that he takes a lot of the blame for the team's struggles and feels some responsibility for the changes because he hasn’t played up to his standard.

Rodgers, by the way, levied some serious criticism at the officials Monday night for throwing 22 combined flags for 204 penalty yards: “It seemed a little ridiculous. Some of them seemed really bad. Including the roughing passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer.”

Sirianni apologized Monday for gesturing and jawing at fans in the final moments of a win during which restless fans booed a listless performance and “Fire Nick!” chants permeated pockets at Lincoln Financial Field. After the team's fourth win in its last dozen tries, Sirianni defended his antics, saying he was simply “excited” to get a victory. He added the Eagles “don’t necessarily like it” when fans boo at home games.

Sirianni struck a conciliatory tone for his behavior a day later after his boorish behavior was ripped by fans and media.

“I was trying to bring energy yesterday. Energy, enthusiasm,” Sirianni said Monday. “I’m sorry and disappointed at how my energy was directed at the end of the game. My energy should be all in on coaching, motivating and celebrating with our guys.”

The Raiders have been the among the league leaders in drama this season with Devante Adams' trade request, a quarterback shuffling and now their superstar Crosby shoving Mike Caldwell, the Raiders' run game coordinator and linebackers coach, during the Raiders' 32-13 loss to the Steelers.

Crosby called it a “love push” in a post on X, and also addressed the situation at his locker with reporters after the game, saying, "Mike Caldwell is a great dude. We have a great relationship, and we do that all the time. ... That's how we play football. We're grown men. We're alpha males. We don't greet each other the same.

“So ... like he was just hyping me up and I hyped him up like, 'Let's go!' We're down, but it just showed that we're not quitting. And so that was literally all it was,” Crosby added. "... The camera, they made it look bad. It looked like I was throwing him out the club but that was not what happened at all.”

A week earlier, the Raiders lost in Denver, where Bo Nix clapped back at coach Sean Payton, who laid into his rookie quarterback as he retreated to the sideline following an off-script incompletion in the end zone.

Payton called his passionate reaction “my love language," and added that Nix still has “some Ferris Bueller in him," a babyboomer jab that made a lot more sense Sunday when the Broncos offense took much of the day off in their loss to the Chargers, falling behind 23-0 in the fourth quarter. At halftime. Nix had just three completions for 22 yards, plus an interception that safety Elijah Molden returned 25 yards.

With contributions from AP Pro Football Writer Dennis Waszak Jr., and AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers walks on the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills in East Rutherford, N.J., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones stands on the field during warmups before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, left, and quarterback Dak Prescott (4) watch play against the Detroit Lions in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix (10) points during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Geneva Heffernan)

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/David Becker)

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni speaks during a news conference with son Miles after an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A court in Serbia on Monday convicted the parents of a teenage boy who last year shot dead nine pupils and a school guard and wounded six more people in a school in central Belgrade.

The Higher Court in Belgrade sentenced Vladimir Kecmanovic, father of the boy, to 14 years and six months in prison for “grave acts against public safety” and for child neglect. The mother, Miljana Kecmanovic was sentenced to three years in prison for child neglect but was acquitted on charges of illegal possession of weapons.

The shooter, identified as Kosta Kecmanovic, was 13 years old when he committed the crime and therefore too young to face a trial, according to Serbian law. His parents were detained soon after the shooting and charged for failing to keep the weapons out of reach of their son.

The massacre at the Vladislav Ribnikar primary school in central Belgrade on May 3, 2023, shocked the Balkan nation which was used to crises but where mass school shootings had never happened before.

The couple's lawyer, Irina Borovic, said the verdict came as no surprise “because public pressure was enormous and the expectations were huge.” Borovic said she will appeal the verdicts.

Ninela Radicevic, who lost her daughter in the shooting, said “we are not satisfied because no one was held responsible for the murder of nine children” and the school guard.

The boy used his father's guns to open fire on his fellow pupils and others. He walked into the school and first opened fire in the hall before heading into a classroom where he continued shooting.

Elementary schools in Serbia cater for children 7-15 years old.

Police have said that the teenager called them after the shooting and calmly said what he had done. He has been held in a specialized institution since the shooting and testified at his parents' trial. The proceedings were closed to the public except for the reading of the verdicts.

Also convicted and sentenced to 15 months in prison for a false testimony was a shooting instructor who worked at a shooting ground where the boy practiced shooting.

The school shooting was followed the next day by another mass killing in villages outside the capital. Uros Blazic, 21, took an automatic rifle and opened fire at multiple locations, killing nine people and wounding 12. He was sentenced earlier this month to 20 years in prison.

The back-to-back shootings triggered a wave of street protests and a crackdown on widespread illegal gun ownership.

Students hold white flowers in front of the court building during a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Relatives and friends of victims arrive in the court building prior to a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Andjelko Acimovic, father of the murdered Angelina arrives in the court building prior to a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Students hold white flowers in front of the court building during a verdict in trial of parents of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Miljana Kecmanovic, mother of of a boy who killed 9 students and security guard in school shooting in 2023, arrives in the court building prior to a verdict in trial, in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)