Mark Sanchez could lose more than his starting job.
Jets coach Rex Ryan quipped yesterday during his long-delayed, season-ending press conference that his now famous tattoo — of his wife, Michelle, posed provocatively wearing only a No. 6 Sanchez jersey — could be changed if the quarterback does not improve his play.
“Is that a real tattoo or not? I’ll keep you guessing,” Ryan said. “I’ve had it for three years now. I know what you are thinking: If Sanchez doesn’t play better, that number’s changing.”
The barb comes on the heels of a season to forget for Sanchez, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2009 and starter for the past four years. In what was arguably the quarterback’s worst season, he continued to receive constant support from Ryan before finally being yanked from the Dec. 2 game against the Cardinals at MetLife Stadium.
He returned to the starting lineup the following week to throw four interceptions in a nightmarish loss to the Titans that eliminated the Jets from postseason contention. Sanchez eked out one last start, in the season finale, after Week 16 starter Greg McElroy suffered a concussion.
It was one of the rare moments of levity in the press conference where Ryan and owner Woody Johnson were made to answer for a disappointing 6-10 season. Last week, Ryan was photographed on vacation in the Bahamas revealing the previously unseen, colorful tattoo.
“I’ve been married 25 years, and through my eyes, my wife’s the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said. “So that’s what it is.”
jterranova@nypost.com