After relieving Mark Sanchez of his starting quarterback job, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan isn't concerned with his own job status.

"I've always said this, the priority is not me by any stretch," the New York Jets head coach said Tuesday, on a conference call with reporters. "So I'm not thinking about myself. I'm thinking about this football team, and trying to get this team ready to play. And believe me, that's the truth. I think if you focus on the job at hand, that I'll be better off that way than any other way."

Ryan has two years left on his current contract, but since reaching the AFC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons, the Jets have now missed the playoffs in back-to-back years, following Monday night's 10-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

"Obviously as a football team we're 6-8, and nobody's happy about that," Ryan said. "Ultimately, I'm the man accountable for this, and I understand that."

"Whatever decisions are made, and everything else, this is a bottom-line business, and right now we're 6-8."

Before the 2012 season began, Ryan said this Jets team "has a chance to be the best team that I've had since I've been the coach here." Although the team was hurt by the losses of All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis and No.1 wide receiver Santonio Holmes, Ryan said Tuesday that he still thought the Jets could have made the playoffs, despite those critical losses.

"I knew it was gonna be difficult, that it'd be a big challenge, but I really thought we would be up for it," Ryan said. "We have ourselves to blame. I think with all the turnovers and things, that's been the Achilles' heel of this team."

Sanchez was the primary culprit in that department, committing a league-high 24 turnovers, including 17 interceptions.

Despite the troubles and uncertainty the team is now facing, Ryan continued to praise his club in other areas.

"I like the way we ran the ball," Ryan said, referring to Monday night's game. "And then playing defense -- the thing I'm really proud of with this defense, I think out of the last 11 turnovers that we've had offensively, I don't believe anybody has scored a single point off those turnovers.

"That'll tell you about the kind of pride, and just how resilient our defense has been playing. I think they've been doing an outstanding job."

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