NFL

Jets should be wary of paying Holmes

A word of warning to the Jets: Proceed with caution as you decide whether to sign Santonio Holmes to a lucrative long-term contract this offseason.

In the immediate aftermath of the Jets’ AFC Championship loss to the Steelers on Sunday night, there was a measurable crack in the good behavior that Holmes has displayed this season in a contract year.

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In what can only be described as a petty snit-fit during which some of his true colors came pouring out in public, Holmes threw offensive coordinator Brian Scottenheimer under the bus while speaking to a handful of reporters in the losers’ locker room.

That alone should serve as warning to Jets management as it mulls a long-term deal for him.

Holmes, a free agent, was ticked off that he was not on the field for the first few offensive plays against the Steelers and, when asked about it, he derisively referred all questions to Schottenheimer at least four times.

“Ask Coach Schottenheimer what was the reason behind that,” Holmes said. “Ask Coach Schottenheimer what happened. He’ll explain everything to you.”

Because the coordinators were not made available after the game or yesterday, reporters couldn’t ask Schottenheimer. Holmes also was not available yesterday.

But that’s not the point.

The point is Holmes has, on the few occasions when things were not going perfectly this season, showed an alarming propensity to become temperamental, which is curious for a player who says he prides himself on leading by example as a former Super Bowl MVP.

A prominent NFL coach, who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity when analyzing the Jets and their season, pointed to the Holmes-Braylon Edwards tandem as a potential problem in the making for the Jets.

He suggested Jets coaches trying to appease the two are in danger of getting away from doing what the Jets do best, which is run the ball.

“The problem you have with Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards is they can be such a—holes if they don’t get the ball that you have to get them the ball just to have order and sanity,” the coach said. “The biggest problem there is, you’re managing people before you even manage the game.”

The coach suggested that Schottenheimer might sometimes compromise what he wants to do in order to keep them happy.

“Schotty wants to be friends instead of saying, ‘Shut the (bleep) up,’ and it’s not like Rex is laying down the hammer,” the coach said. “But that’s what they signed up for, and it’s helped them win a bunch of games.”

The concern, the coach said, is where do the Jets go from here when it comes to signing the talented receivers to long-term contracts?

Are they seduced enough by Holmes’ big-play ability — remember, he turned four games with crucial receptions this season — to make a long-term commitment and deal with the headaches?

Ryan yesterday offered Holmes an out regarding the comments he made about Schottenheimer, hinting that perhaps Holmes was caught up in the frustration of the moment after the season-ending loss.

“That’s not the way I like to operate,” Ryan said of players calling out coaches. “That’s the emotion of it at the time. Those are things, obviously, you wish you had back.”

When deciding whether to lock up Holmes with a lucrative, long-term contract, the Jets better be careful about what they sign up for.

Remember, the Steelers, perhaps the classist, most personnel-savvy franchise in the league, gave him away to the Jets for a fifth-round draft pick in a trade a year ago. There was obviously a reason for that. We saw some of that reason Sunday night in that visitor’s locker room in Pittsburgh.