New York Jets Assistant Coach Sal Alosi suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs without pay for his intentional tripping of Miami Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll(notes) on Sunday.
There were calls to fire the coach for the bush-league maneuver, but the league was wise to resist that mob mentality. A severe sanction was in order and this punishment was justified. A termination was not. How could Roger Goodell rationalize getting rid of a coach while giving players repeated chances to come back from far more heinous offenses? The biggest story in the NFL this year involves a player given a second chance. Alosi deserved the same chance.
This is no defense of Alosi; the tripping was a heinous offense. The NFL has a hard enough time keeping players safe from other players, let alone from coaches standing on the sideline. But it was a momentary lapse in judgment and one that isn't apt to be repeated by anyone else. There isn't going to be a rash of assistant coaches with happy feet trying to tangle up opponents. It was an isolated incident, which means Alosi's punishment didn't need to send a message to anyone else but Alosi.
Rex Ryan acknowledged that his assistant messed up but defended him. "Sal made a huge mistake," he said. "I can't remember anything like this."
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There were calls to fire the coach for the bush-league maneuver, but the league was wise to resist that mob mentality. A severe sanction was in order and this punishment was justified. A termination was not. How could Roger Goodell rationalize getting rid of a coach while giving players repeated chances to come back from far more heinous offenses? The biggest story in the NFL this year involves a player given a second chance. Alosi deserved the same chance.
This is no defense of Alosi; the tripping was a heinous offense. The NFL has a hard enough time keeping players safe from other players, let alone from coaches standing on the sideline. But it was a momentary lapse in judgment and one that isn't apt to be repeated by anyone else. There isn't going to be a rash of assistant coaches with happy feet trying to tangle up opponents. It was an isolated incident, which means Alosi's punishment didn't need to send a message to anyone else but Alosi.
Rex Ryan acknowledged that his assistant messed up but defended him. "Sal made a huge mistake," he said. "I can't remember anything like this."
