EAGAN, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings have suspended assistant coach Gerald Alexander for three weeks without pay following an April arrest for drunken driving.
Court documents show that Alexander, whom the Vikings hired in February as defensive passing game coordinator/defensive backs, was stopped in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina on April 26.
According to a statement of probable cause filed in support of the initial charge, an Edina police officer responded to a welfare check at 4:01 a.m. and found Alexander passed out at the wheel of his car in the middle of an intersection. The officer's initial attempts to wake him failed, but eventually Alexander woke and was "mumbling incoherently."
"The defendant's balance was so poor that the one-leg stand test was stopped to prevent the defendant from falling and hurting himself," according to the statement of probable cause. "The defendant submitted to a preliminary breath test which revealed an alcohol concentration of .169 on a weak breath."
While he submitted to the initial test, Alexander refused a DMT test after being arrested.
Alexander pleaded guilty July 16 to third-degree DWI, a gross misdemeanor, and paid $603 in fines and fees. He was assigned 48 hours of community service and will be on unsupervised probation for two years.
"I take full responsibility for the situation I put myself in and apologize for not meeting the mark," Alexander said in a statement released by the team. "I know it's unacceptable. I understand the suspension and am committed to learning from the matter and ensuring I come back a better version of myself."
His suspension began Friday and will conclude Aug. 13.
"Following Gerald's arrest earlier this spring, we remained in communication with the NFL while awaiting the outcome of the legal process," the Vikings said in a statement. "With that matter now resolved, the team has suspended Gerald without pay for three weeks. ... We take these situations seriously and believe this disciplinary action is appropriate."
Alexander played five seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2011 and eventually moving into coaching. He has coached with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores in both Miami and Pittsburgh, and he was Flores' choice to replace Daronte Jones, who left the Vikings this spring to become the Washington Commanders' defensive coordinator.
