Jets suspend Alosi for rest of season

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - A momentary lapse of judgment cost Sal Alosi his job for the rest of the season.

The Jets' head strength and conditioning coach was suspended without pay for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs and fined $25,000 for tripping Dolphins special-teamer Nolan Carroll on the sideline during Sunday's game.

At about 6:30 p.m. yesterday, general manager Mike Tannenbaum told Alosi, a Massapequa native and Hofstra alumnus, of the organization's decision. The suspension was effective immediately. Alosi will not be granted access to the facility or be allowed to interact with coaches and players.

"Sal feels terrible for what he did and yet he took ownership, which I respect," said Tannenbaum, who added that his conversation with Alosi was brief and to the point. "It's something we take very seriously here and we are extremely disappointed with what he did. There is no place for it in the game and he knows that. It's our job to hold him accountable for that."

The Jets said they spoke to the NFL but made the decision on their own. The league will not discipline Alosi further. "At the end of the day, this was our punishment," Tannenbaum said.

Asked if the Jets considered firing him, the general manager said the organization "looked at everything and felt this was the appropriate action to take."

As Carroll ran down the sideline, two yards out of bounds, to cover a punt in the third quarter of the Jets' 10-6 home loss, Alosi tripped Carroll, causing the Dolphin to fall.

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Alosi expressed remorse at a news conference yesterday, calling his actions "inexcusable" and "irresponsible." Asked what he was thinking at the time, he said: "That was the problem; nothing went through my head."

Alosi, a linebacker for Hofstra from 1996-2000, earned an award there for sportsmanship and fair play on and off the field. He added, "If I could go back and do it again, I sure as heck would take a step back."

Though surprised by the incident, Rex Ryan stuck up for his assistant.

"Sal made a huge mistake. He knows that," said Ryan, who said they spoke by phone Sunday night. " . . . I admire the fact that he never denied it, that he stood up and took responsibility and owned up to it. He regrets it a great deal and I've said it - and I know I'll get killed for it - there's no place for it in football, no question. But he made a mistake and he admitted it."

Tannenbaum said it hasn't been decided whether Alosi - who did not offer to resign - will be allowed on the sideline in 2011. In the meantime, Bryan Dermody will be the interim strength and conditioning coach.

Neither Ryan nor Tannenbaum was aware of the incident until after the game, when Jets public relations director Bruce Speight brought it to their attention.

"Player safety is a huge concern,'' Tannenbaum said, "and to see that a player got hurt on a play like that, I was really floored by it."

Jennifer Carroll, Nolan's mother and Florida's lieutenant governor-elect, said she was disappointed to learn a strength and conditioning coach tripped her son. "He's supposed to be healing these players and making them 100 percent to go out and do their jobs,'' she said. "It could have been a debilitating situation. If it were lower to his knee, he could have busted a kneecap. It could have put him out for the season or even for his career."

With AP