FLORHAM PARK, N.J. | The New York Jets suspended assistant coach Sal Alosi indefinitely Wednesday after they discovered he ordered five inactive players to form a wall along the sideline for a punt return, during which he tripped a Miami Dolphins player.
General manager Mike Tannenbaum said Wednesday that Alosi, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, did not initially acknowledge that he ordered players to stand that way during the investigation Monday.
“As we continued our investigation, we discovered some new information,” Tannenbaum said in a conference call from the NFL owners meetings in Dallas, “and 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.”
Tannenbaum said he met with Ray Anderson, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, on Wednesday morning and the league supported the Jets’ decision. Tannenbaum added that the NFL was also looking into the incident.
“Once we get all the information, we’ll make a final determination,” Tannenbaum said. “But, based on this information, Sal’s been suspended indefinitely.”
Tannenbaum did not rule out the possibility that Alosi will be fired.
“All options are on the table,” he said.
League spokesman Greg Aiello said that “Ray Anderson and his staff are reviewing and clarifying sideline protocols with the teams at today’s league meeting in Fort Worth and will follow up with a memo to the clubs this week.”
The Jets suspended Alosi for the season without pay Monday and fined him an additional $25,000 after he stuck out a knee and tripped Miami’s Nolan Carroll, who was covering the punt in the third quarter of the Dolphins’ 10-6 win Sunday.
He added that coach Rex Ryan and special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff were not involved.
Tannenbaum said the team looked at the game film of the play and “it looked to me like it was unusual for them to be standing that way.” The Jets interviewed the players who were standing near Alosi, but will not take any action against them.
“This is just about Sal,” Tannenbaum said.
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