Larry Izzo was on the wrong end of Super Bowl XLII. Pretty soon, he'll make the jump to the winning side.

Er, sideline.

Izzo, a 14-year NFL veteran who played for the Dolphins, Patriots and Jets, will join the Giants' coaching staff as their new assistant special teams coach, according to someone informed of Izzo's impending hire. The person requested anonymity because the hiring isn't official, but it will be once the lockout is over.

The Giants apparently tabbed Izzo a whle ago as their replacement for Thomas McGaughey, who left to join LSU's staff. N.D. Kalu, Izzo's former collegiate teammate at Rice wrote on his Twitter account early last month Izzo would be coaching with the Giants next season, though that tweet appears to have been deleted.

Izzo, 36, was a three-time Pro Bowl selection and at one point had the most career tackles among active special teams players. He played his last season with the Jets in 2009 and appeared in 12 games before suffering what proved to be a career-ending neck injury.

Izzo will now be charged with helping Giants special teams coach Tom Quinn improve the team's return game (last in punt returns, next-to-last in kick returns last season) and help a punt-coverage unit that allowed the second-highest average in the NFL (14.9 yards per return) and a pair of touchdowns in 2010.

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Mike Garafolo: mgarafolo@starledger.com