WHIPPANY, N.J. — Just a few months ago, this weekend might have promised a circus of the five-ring variety: On Saturday, the former Red Bulls coach Mike Petke will return to Red Bull Arena to be honored as one of the top 20 players in franchise history. At the same time, Jesse Marsch, his replacement, will be exiled to the stands for the day’s match against Columbus because of a one-game suspension.

So, yes, this could be a real mess, except that the Red Bulls are unexpectedly sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings, bound for the playoffs as a mold-breaking, frugal franchise shaped by the “Moneyball”-like analytics of Marsch and the team’s new sporting director, Ali Curtis. The fan revolt that accompanied Curtis’s surprising dismissal of Petke in January and his subsequent hiring of Marsch, which erupted in fury at a town hall session about 10 days later, has cooled considerably.

Saturday’s game is now just another key match in the Red Bulls’ drive for the league’s best record, and the Supporters’ Shield award that goes with it. But it could also be further proof that Marsch is not merely an accidental interloper.

“I knew it was polarizing,” Marsch said at a training session this week, referring to his hiring. “I realized it more when we had the town hall. But I’m not in a popularity contest. I’m here to do a job. And I love this job. You’ve got to honor it the right way. I’m a soccer coach. That’s literally what I am. I’m confident in my way.”