Part of the Salafi methodology of da'wah is singling out the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) alone for following.

The Shaykh : So the distinction is important, and it can be summarized in a short word: our da'wah is confined to singling out the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for following. In our view, he has no equal and no partner in being followed. We do not follow any human being whatsoever except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). As for others, the ones they follow are numerous, as is well known. I wish the matter of following among them were confined to following the four Imams. I wish the matter among them were confined to following the students of these Imams. I wish, I wish, but there is no benefit in wishing at all. However, this detail is to clarify that the matter is very serious. As days succeed and years pass, the ones followed by those who claim to follow the four Imams cannot be counted in thousands. If you approach a man who is versed in a particular madhhab and you argue with him using a book by one of these Imams, and that Imam is the Imam of the man he claims to belong to, such as a Hanafi or a Shafi'i, and you bring him the text from the Imam's book, he says: No, we do not follow these texts. Fine, you are a Hanafi or a Shafi'i; he says: We are unable to take from the same Imam. So he takes from the one who took from the one who took from the one who took until he reaches the Imam. So they take from the later scholars and do not take from the early Imams.
We used to imagine the real problem was confined between our da'wah of following the Book and the Sunnah and singling out the Messenger (peace be upon him) for following, excluding the four Imams, the four poles in knowledge. And the problem is greater than that; for they also refuse to remain followers of the Imams. They do not have the knowledge, culture, or awareness, in principles or branches, to find in themselves the ability and capacity to follow the Imams themselves. Rather, they follow from one to another until they reach the jurist in the present age.