A New York Jets coach has now been suspended indefinitely - instead of for the rest of this season - after the team learned he instructed players to stand with him near their sideline before he tripped a Miami Dolphins player, the team said Wednesday.
The Jets said they're still reviewing the case of strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi, and that they could opt to fire him. Alosi tripped rookie Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll during a punt in third quarter of the Dolphins' 10-6 win over the Jets.
"The players at the Miami game were instructed by Sal to stand where they were, to force the gunner in the game to run around them," Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum told reporters Wednesday.
Carroll, covered by two Jets players, was running along the sideline toward the Jets punt returner when the incident happened at the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey. Video shows Carroll was out of bounds and trying to run back in the field of play when Alosi - standing with Jets players on the out-of-bounds edge of the sideline - leaned his left knee forward. The knee caught Carroll, who tumbled to the ground.
Carroll was shaken up but eventually walked to his sideline on his own power. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
Alosi apologized to Carroll, the Dolphins' coach and others Sunday, and on Monday he told reporters that he "wasn't thinking." Asked that day whether someone had instructed him and other Jets personnel to stand close to the sidelines to prevent the Dolphins from running out of bounds - something for which Miami was penalized earlier in the game - Alosi said: "No, that wasn't anything that was instructed."
On Monday the Jets suspended Alosi for the rest of the season and fined him $25,000. But the Jets continued to look at the play and then talked with players "who appeared to be standing in a wall-like formation with Alosi," the Jets said in a statement.
"It looked to me that it was unusual for them to be standing that way, and then on Tuesday we talked to the players involved, and that's when we were told they were asked to stand there by Sal," Tannenbaum said in a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "They were instructed by Sal throughout the game, but specifically when Miami was punting, they were asked to stand there by him."
"Once we got this new information, we actually met with the commissioner [Roger Goodell] and [vice president of football operations] Ray Anderson this morning. They support this initial decision that we presented to them, but the league is going to look into this as well, as they should," Tannenbaum said.
The Jets said they could choose to terminate Alosi's services.
"All options are certainly on the table," Tannenbaum said. "We're going to complete the review, get all the information. [Special teams coach] Mike Westhoff was not involved, [head coach] Rex Ryan is not involved, but we just want to be thorough and then make the best decision."
Alosi, who played linebacker at Hofstra, joined the Jets as an intern in 2002 before serving as their assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2003 to 2005. He worked one year with the Atlanta Falcons before returning to the Jets as their head strength and conditioning coach in 2007.
"he wasn't thinking"
Clearly he was thinking. Why should this jack... not be fired?
Agreed, fire him. I saw that live and saw the replay a few times...what a dork. He could have really jacked that guy up...
Your reasoning behind firing him is that he could have somehow harmed a 6' tall 250 pound pro athlete in full protective pads by tripping him?
Riiiiight.
@JG....yea he is a big guy and that only means when he lands on his arms, hands, head from a tripping that it is more likely that he would get hurt. Did you take Physics? Actually, did you pass second grade?
Not only should he be fired he also needs to be arrested for aggravated assault and never be allowed to participate in any sporting activity ever again.
JG, this particular player had broken his leg twice previously during his football career. It could've ended his career if something happened again.
Why wouldn't a strength and conditioning coach know that he could hurt a player, even in pads, by blindsiding him? You're not expected to get contact from personnel on the sidelines.
@JG – What an idiot... I'm guessing about 12 years old.
@JG, and above physics, Integrity and moral as a coach and as a person.
At first I was with the anti-firing whines, coz I believe that as a human being we tend to commit thoughtless action(s) specially in sudden times. But in this latest development of the issue, I'm having a second thought.
Good luck Sal- go open a pizza shop. What he did was 100% wrong and there should be no reason to still have a job in the NFL.
fire him and then leave him alone ... im sure he feels bad enough already... no reason to ruin someone's life over a stupid decision... we all make them.. just most of them are not played over and over again for us to dwell on.
Seriously, JG.....did you check your brains at the door?
Actually, JG is a mental midget!
On Sunday, I'll be watching the Steelers crunch the Jets alongside my cutie! 🙂 http://bit.ly/svedenblonde
webber1998: Since you think this is twitter because you have to put the @ sign in front of his username, you must also be in your teens as well. Get a life beyond twitter folks. This is a CNN forum. No @ sign necessary!
PNW
He shouldn't be fired because he didn't do the instructing. All bets point to this kid being the scapegoat for Rex Ryan's goonsquad. I'm not saying other teams wouldn't do this either. But I definitely think it's the atmosphere of the Jets. Furthermore, the only reason there's any problem at all is because he got caught. If the the Jets would've caught him, and no one else, do you think we'd be having this conversation? No. Because it helps the Jets. But he got caught so the Jets are going to say it was him and only him.
Anyone watching the game or watching the replay saw that Alosi intentionally put his knee out there to trip the Miami player up. This is professional conduct? And if he instructed others to do this, even worse. Fire him and I agree with the aggravated assault charge. If someone else wants to hire him that's their problem. If I did anything that unethical and unprofessional in my field, I'd be fired.
J.G., ...wow, could you be a bigger moron? You're one of the millions of Americans who love wussy football. You don't care how your team wins; cheat, steal, trip, hold, whatever – just as long as you win. And yes, you ridiculous goof, players wearing all that protection are seriously hurt all the time.
He should be fired, stupid decision and it was caught on live TV!!
Does anybody really believe that the sideline lineup wasn't a Ryan directive?
Very true. If I trip a fellow employee, intentially, I am gone within an hour. That is the real world, bud, and you got to pay with your job.
The "jack" has already been fined 25 GRAND and has been suspended for the remainder of the year. Do you not think that is punishment enough. So, he asked these grown men to crowd the line with him...BIG DEAL! It's done all the time. He made a crap, blockhead decision to stick his knee out. He's being punished. Get on with it. What about the bone crushing, concussion inducing, sometimes paralyzing illegal hits we see EVERY year? I don't see much screaming about kicking players out of the league for these potentially LIFE altering hits...Oh, but that would turn the game into a wuss-fest wouldn't it?
FIRE the loser! I would think that someone in his position would share camaraderie with the players regardless of whether they are on the opposing team. He is fully aware of the hits those guys take and the injuries they sustain....why would anyone purposely–who is NOT in the game–try to injure a player? He should be fired because I would not think that the league would want such an employee (that close to the players, who is capable of such a scheme) to represent them.
This guy still technically has a job while thousands of Americans who do their jobs right are being laid off. Just... fire him already.
Yeah bake mr potato head already!
I would love a job and I wouldn't hurt anybody!
Agreed. What a role model, get this trash out of the NFL. Patriots will probably pick him up, he'll fit right in.
I'm sure Jerry Jones would hire him– you know, because Jerry is such a savior of lost souls & misfits & all.... (at least in his mind anyway).
How about we ask the Miami player why he was 3 feet out of bounds?
I'm not excusing the Jets coach, but if the opposing player was not 3 feet out of bounds, then I don't think he would have been tripped.
Oh yeah bc He intentionally went over there to try and take out NY conditioning coach! Duh?!
...sheesh I guess all the jets fans will come out and defend this classless action!
Oh I don't know...maybe the two Jets players covering him could have blocked or pushed him out of bounds? Looks like there was contact in the video.
hes allowed to be there.... on punts and kick offs, you are allowed to run out of bounds and come back in, this is what is called a "gunner"... the fastest players on special teams usually get this role, and are allowed to use that area to avoid blocks... where the coach was standing is the boundary line
you are missing the point you twit!
I agree he should not have been 3 foot out of bounds. This does not excuse what happened but they had already been flagged for this and it oviously was a stragedy to avoid being blocked to get down field quicker. So the move itself is against the rules and they really need to do something about it.... and yes fire the coach....
The Miami player was the Gunner. Its his job to run down the sideline. He is usually forced out of bounds by the defense, that is why he is on the out of bounds line.
In American football, a gunner, also known as a shooter or kamikaze, is a player on kickoffs and punts who specializes in running down the sideline very quickly in an attempt to tackle the kick returner or the punt returner.[1] Gunners must have several techniques in order to break away or "shed" blockers, and have good agility in order to change their running direction quickly. Gunners on the punt team also must be able to block or catch and avoid coaching staffs.
Gunners typically also play positions as defensive backs, cornerbacks, wide receivers, or running back when not on special teams, often as backups.
Gunner may also refer to the one or two players assigned to block the gunner of the punting team.
The NFL Pro Bowl features a "Special Teamer" position, along with a kicker, punter, and kick returner. This is often the gunner considered to be among the best. Recent Pro Bowlers include Kassim Osgood, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Hanik Milligan, Larry Izzo, David Tyree, Montell Owens, Jonathan Casillas, Stefan Logan, Anthony Madison and Sean Morey. Steve Tasker, a 7-time Pro Bowler, is considered to be the top gunner in NFL history.[2]
Charlie-
Do you even know the shape of a football? Correct, it is square. Get to know the game before you waste everyone's time with dumb comments. Come on, man.
In the NFL if you are blocked out of bounds, you are allowed to continue upfield as long as you aren't the first to touch the ball when you come back in bounds. It actually happens a lot on punts
Obviously some people who post on here don't know the sport. Gunners are pushed out of bounds in every game. They must get inbounds as quickly as possible or it is a penalty.
Not a good excuse. He was double covered; his choice was to get tangled up by running inside, or running down the sideline and beating the coverage. As a defensive player he can run down the sideline, especially if he's pushed into going that direction. I wouldn't be surprised if the two double covering him were in on it, as well.
This guy is getting thrown under the buss by the Jets organization. I'm sure that Rex Ryan was the one that told his coaches to set up a wall. They are letting this guy take the fall for the bigger fish.
I have no problem with any team setting up a wall on their own sidelines well out of bounds. These gunners that run out of bounds so they can avoid blocks and build up speed should be stopped. It should not be allowed to intentionally run on to the other teams sideline (or out of bounds at all) to avoid the field of play. It one thing to get pushed or blocked.
That said, even if the wall is ok tripping anyone intentionally is wrong. If I was the NFL I'd "ban" the walls and make a player running out intentionally ineligible. Problem solved.
Learn your rules bud. He was blocked out of bounds and had the right to return immediately to the play. Thats why the goombas were standing in a line. To prevent a blocked out player from making a direct return to the field. It was pure, premeditated cheating.
Watch football much?? Players are run out of bounds all the time, he had 2 Jets covering him, forcing him out right into that line Alosi created. Beginning to wonder if those 2 were in on the plan.
At the speed those guys are running...who tracks how far out of bounds they are? Are you kidding?
What a moron!? It seems like Jets GM is a stand up guy....as for the rest of the JETS...idk...
Of course the Jets are not going to fire Alosi, because they know that if they fired Alosi, he will have all the motive to 'fess up and implicate the head coach. Where there is smoke, there is always fire. Wait until the head coach starts losing, all of these antics, including this issue, will come back to haunt him!
Tend to believe Alosi was directed to do that too. One reason was the way he talked at the PC yesterday. He seems pretty upset at what he had done like that was very unethical to him too.
Directed to trip up a gunner? Seriously? Why on earth would a team scheme to cheat on such an inconsequential (ARGUABLY) type of play?....That's just ridiculous.
He's screwed, he will be fired and then no other teams will hire him. He will be at Mcdonalds pretty soon.
"Yeah!!!!" That's what should happen!
Can you sat "steriods'?
Can you spell say?
Additionally, can you spell "steroids"?
Mike...sitting on steroids will make your pants dirty or wet.
aw come on he got the "Can" and the "you" right... which oddly enough are exactly the first two words the training coach will hear from HR after the words "we are going to"
Mike,
Please don't post another comment that has only four words and half of the words are spelled incorrectly!
I think that this guy should have been fired in the first place. He thought that he wouldn't be caught, but c'mon, in this age of video recording of every aspect of our lives, what was he thinking. It was a deliberate, calculated, unsportsmanlike act to trip a player and, I think, that requires severe punishment – termination.
Inexcusable, period.
Poor sportsmanship. Very, very very POOR SPORTSMANSHIP. Obviously this man does not know how to be a gracious loser – just a LOSER.
Carlos – You are a moron.
Where did they get this mugshot-looking photo of the coach?
Probably got the pic from the NFL like the photo says-duh.
sounds like something a ryan would do
Yep. He should be fired. I feel bad for the guys he talked into (ordered?) to help him. Too bad they went along with it, but he was the main culprit.
FIRE HIM! Teach the kids out there that this kind of unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated.
an easily replaceable position, fire him