01/06 – Jason Trusnik took the football off the field, brandishing it in both hands as if it were a baton and he were a Florida A&M drum major. "It's something I'll never forget," Trusnik said of his first pro fumble recovery, which led to a short-lived 6-0 Jets lead over the Dolphins at the Meadowlands two Sundays ago. "Coming off the field, I was excited, and my teammates and everybody were just as excited and enjoying it with me." He didn't do a victory lap or a planned celebration, but just the joy of Bryan Thomas' sack of Chad Pennington and his post-recovery emotion left him with an unusual feeling. "You use so much emotion," he said. "I came off the field and I was like, 'Man, I'm a little winded.' That's something I'll never forget." Trusnik had just come on the field for his first defensive play of the game, following David Bowens at the top of the second quarter as the two replaced David Harris, who left late in the first frame with an ankle injury. Thomas delayed his rush as part of a six-man blitz, then found a clear path to Pennington, executing only the second strip-sack of the former Jets QB all season. Trusnik was also in on the pressure party and pounced on the ball when it came loose. Trusnik went back on for 16 more defensive snaps at his new ILB position, playing more in the loss to the Dolphins than he had in his previous six games combined. He couldn't have known Harris would have to leave with his second injury this season, but he was ready. "I knew I was going to play special teams all week," he said. "But I make sure I know what I'm doing because you never know what's going to happen out there on the field. It just happened that David went down and I rotated in a little bit and just took advantage of my opportunity. I was able to come in and make some plays and hopefully finish the season well for myself." As well-prepared and versatile as Trusnik has become — he's played teams, end in the sub rush, inside 'backer and outside 'backer — he admitted he wasn't ready for what came the day after the Jets' 24-17 loss, the decision that head coach Eric Mangini would be relieved of his command. "I was actually, you know, a little shocked," he said of Mangini, who made Trusnik the only undrafted free agent he personally talked to after the 2007 draft. "It's tough, with Eric bringing me in last year. I thought I had a bond with him. He's a real good guy. ... It's never an easy thing, whether it's one of your teammates or it's a coach, it's never easy. For a moment, there is some emotion behind it." It's also not easy being the coaches or players left behind. Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum are in the middle of a thorough coaching search, but because some of the candidates could continue in the playoffs for several more weeks, the identity of the new football boss and the direction his leadership will take remains unknown. For a player such as Trusnik, will he fit into the new coach's scheme? Does he have the skill level, the body type, "the right stuff"? Does he have the body of work to continue his Jets career? After all, Trusnik arrived as an undrafted free agent after his big-sacking career for Division III Ohio Northern. He spent half the season on the practice squad last year, played six games, then suffered a serious foot injury that landed him on IR and then this summer on PUP. He finally got back into uniform for Game 8 at Buffalo, where he promptly turned in a key ST play, drawing a holding call on Bryan Scott to wipe out Brian Moorman's first-down fake-punt run. If there are any concerns for his young NFL career, Trusnik has put them aside. He's going to continue to work out at the Atlantic Health Training Center, and he and his fiancée, Nicole, will be planning their April 4 wedding. At some point he'll get back home to Ohio to see his family. And he'll take time to offer his best to Mangini, although he doesn't suspect his first Jets coach will need it. "I think the best is ahead for Eric," Trusnik said. "I've always said things work out the way they're supposed to and what's meant to be is meant to be. So things will work out for him and we'll take the next coach who comes along and we'll embrace him, we'll move on as a team and a unit, and we'll look forward to next year."

An Emotional End to Jason Trusnik's Season

01/05 – As a followup to my most recent Radar entry this afternoon, one of those six interviews that the Jets will have this week with head-coaching candidates will be with an old Hog. Russ Grimm, the Arizona Cardinals, assistant head coach/offensive line and the longtime Washington Redskins guard, will interview with a Jets contingent that will include owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum in the Phoenix area on Thursday. Grimm hasn't been a coaching nomad over his career. He was born in Pennsylvania and went to Pitt. He played and coached 20 years with the Redskins, then moved back home to coach Pittsburgh's OL for seven seasons. He was up for the Steelers' HC job that went to Mike Tomlin in 2007, then moved west with Ken Whisenhunt to coach up the Cards. And that job has been going well. Arizona, of course, has moved on to the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs — their 30-24 win over Atlanta has advanced them to a Saturday night date at Carolina against the second-seeded Panthers. But the Cards gave permission for Grimm to speak with the Jets. (Perhaps because Whisenhunt is an old Jets TE and assistant coach himself?) And with the NFL's complex rules to ensure that all head-coaching candidates get interviews even if their team is on a Super Bowl run, the window of opportunity for the Jets and Grimm is Thursday in the desert.

Mr. J, Mike T toTalk with Grimm in the Desert

01/05 – It's Week 2 and the Jets' head-coaching interview process will ratchet up. We're hearing that owner Woody Johnson this week will conduct interviews with six candidates for the job opening. Two of them will be Johnson's first interviews with the Jets' in-house candidates, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer on Tuesday and assistant head coach/offensive line Bill Callahan on Wednesday. I don't have hard information on who the other four interviewees will be, but we can say that due to the complex rules that the NFL has developed for interviewing candidates still coaching in the playoffs, a window of opportunity will open soon to talk with Rex Ryan, the Baltimore defensive coordinator whom the Ravens have given the Jets permission to speak to. The Ravens flew away from the Dolphins, 27-9, on Sunday and have advanced to a Saturday AFC Divisional Round Game at top-seeded Tennessee. While Johnson was out of the country last week, he was in close contact with GM Mike Tannenbaum as the process began last week with interviews with Schottenheimer and Callahan on Friday and Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo on Saturday. One thing to keep in mind regarding this search is that it's not about "practice, practice, practice" but rather "process, process, process." The search has been set up along the lines of the Green & White draft process. When the Jets draft every April, they do so only after meticulously setting up their annual procedure of filtering and weighing all their myriad interviews, visits, meetings, combine workout information, external and internal recommendations and research. And that's just the way this coaching process has been set up as well ... except maybe for the combine part. It's probably not important for the Jets' new coach to be able to turn a 4.4 in the 40 and a 6.8 in the three-cone drill. Several commentators have noted the thoroughness of the Jets' current process, including Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com, who spent time with Eric Allen and me this morning for this week's "Jets Two-Minute Drive." That show can be heard on newyorkjets.com later this afternoon. One more bit of information we've learned about the Jets' coaching search is that despite published reports, no frontrunners for the job have emerged this early in the process. There's that word again.  Checking in at No. 17 Lost in the Jets' coaching search is their draft position. Just to confirm for anyone who missed it, the Jets are in the 17th slot in the first round. They are tied with four other teams — Chicago, Tampa Bay, Detroit (from a trade with Dallas) and Arizona — in the 9-7 segment. The Cardinals automatically fall to 21st and last in the segment for Round 1 because they're in the playoffs. The other four teams were ordered based on their opponents' schedule strength. The Jets' .471 was the lowest of the four so they get the highest pick in the first round in that segment. Then they fall to the bottom of the segment for Round 2, which is No. 53 overall. As a final note, the Jets could rise to No. 16 overall, but only if San Diego reaches the Super Bowl.

Busy Week Ahead: Six Interviews Set