Russ was bad last year. He’s playing well this year (if very conservatively). Suddenly he’s doing enough to win instead of being the reason they lose. That changes a lot.

Also, i think the shine is off a little bit. He’s no longer the guy that was brought in to be the savior and under intense scrutiny. Payton shut some of that down with getting rid of his office and banning his private coaches, and I think the rest is that trying to crucify Russ in the media has lost its appeal.