Mark Sanchez stood in a cramped room at LP Field Monday night with the worn look of a player who had hit rock bottom. Five turnovers, three in the fourth quarter, had led to a 14-10 Jets defeat to the Titans, costing the Jets the playoffs and Sanchez his job.
As he spouted clichés about getting better and learning from his mistakes, it led to many questions, but none stronger than: How did the Jets and Sanchez get here?
Almost four years ago, the Jets fell in love with Sanchez. After trips to the AFC Championship Game in his first two years, they felt they had if not an elite quarterback, a capable one that could guide the franchise and possibly become a great one in several years.
Now, they don’t even know if he will start again.
Coach Rex Ryan announced yesterday Greg McElroy, a seventh-round pick making $400,000, will replace Sanchez, the team’s first-round pick in 2009 who is making nearly $12 million this season.
What the heck happened?
Through conversations with current and former members of the Jets organization and league sources, here’s a look at the rise and fall of Sanchez as a Jet.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
The Jets held the 17th pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum knew they had to find their quarterback after Brett Favre retired.
They had their sights set on Kansas State’s Josh Freeman until a clandestine meeting with Sanchez in southern California a month before the draft. They snuck the quarterback, who started just 16 games at USC, into a back door of the St. Regis Monarch Beach hotel in Dana Point, Calif., where the NFL owners meetings were occurring.
A contingent including Tannenbaum, Ryan and owner Woody Johnson met with Sanchez over two days, including a workout at his former high school. He impressed the group with his throws and the number of volunteers that showed up to play receiver for him.
At dinner that night, he won the group over with his sense of humor and intelligence.
“He lights up a room,” Tannenbaum later gushed.
In April, they traded the No. 17 pick, their second-round pick and three backup players to the Browns for the No. 5 pick. They selected Sanchez and Ryan anointed him the team’s starter a few months later.
“This young man was so impressive,” Ryan said. “We knew I think right then that this was a guy that we really wanted.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP RUNS
Sanchez’s first start began with a pep talk from Jets legend Joe Namath. On the field at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Namath told Sanchez it was his time. He completed 18 of 31 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown in the 24-7 Jets victory over the Texans.
“Not bad for a couple of rookies,” Ryan crowed.
Sanchez had one bad mistake that day, an interception returned for a touchdown.
“The defense was unbelievable, and we should’ve had a shutout,” Sanchez said. “I owe them one.”
That would be a recurring theme.
Sanchez would throw 20 interceptions to just 12 touchdowns as a rookie. But he showed some flashes, particularly in the playoffs as the Jets made it to the AFC title game against the Colts.
“We thought the guy’s got potential,” said Damien Woody, the starting right tackle in Sanchez’s first two seasons and now an ESPN analyst. “He made some good plays and some bone-headed plays. You figure it’s the learning curve. Young quarterbacks are going to make mistakes.”
In 2010, Sanchez played better, particularly during a November stretch when he led the team to three game-tying or game-winning drives. He clicked with receivers Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes and the Jets again made it to the brink of the Super Bowl before losing to the Steelers.
Then everything went south.
Looking back, some people with the Jets believe things came too easily for Sanchez in those first two years. He did not appreciate how difficult it is to get to the conference title game. Sanchez was largely along for the ride in those first two years as the team was carried by its running attack and defense.
Even though the Jets barely made the playoffs each of those years, people around the Jets began to sense an overconfidence in Sanchez.
THE SLIDE BEGINS
The team let Edwards leave as a free agent before the 2011 season and then released Jerricho Cotchery, a steady force at receiver. They signed Plaxico Burress and Derrick Mason and decided to turn the offense over to Sanchez.
The new parts didn’t mesh, and the Jets scrapped the offense four weeks into the season.
“I think part of the problem is the constant change at the skill position,” Woody said. “I also think the culture that Rex Ryan instills in the building being so one side of the ball, not much emphasis on offense and development, hurts him.”
Several people mentioned the Ryan culture that is defense-centric. It led to a rift between the defense, which resented Sanchez, and the offense in 2011. Sanchez also feuded with Holmes, and the season ended without the playoffs for the first time in his career.
LONG, COLD WINTER
The offseason began with teammates sniping at Sanchez. Soon, the Jets were contemplating how to fix their quarterback problems. They dumped offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, but inexplicably replaced him with Tony Sparano, not known for developing quarterbacks.
In February, the Jets approached Sanchez’s agents about a contract extension, which was not finalized until March. While the details were being worked on, the Jets expressed interest in Peyton Manning after the Colts released him. Manning quickly rebuffed them.
The day it became clear Manning had no interest the Jets announced the three-year extension, which brought Sanchez’s deal to five years at $58.25 million, with an additional $10 million in escalators.
The Jets were gambling Sanchez would improve and they would have him locked up for three years at a bargain price. Sanchez, in turn, got additional guaranteed money and knew he would be a free agent at 30 years old.
A few weeks later, the Jets traded for Tim Tebow and added another layer to this mess. People close to Sanchez say Tebow’s presence has not been as disruptive as many think. The bigger problem was the moves the Jets were not making in March, namely adding only Chaz Schilens at wide receiver in free agency.
THE COLLAPSE
The preseason saw the Jets score no offensive touchdowns with Sanchez on the field. The training camp focus was on every incompletion and interception he or Tebow threw.
People around the team began to question whether Sanchez was being set up to fail. The talent level on offense had deteriorated drastically since the 2010 season’s run to the AFC title game. One person in the organization called it “ridiculous.”
Things got off to a good start for Sanchez with a three-touchdown day against the Bills. He then completed less than 50 percent of his passes in the next four games and lost Holmes to a season-ending injury. That further downgraded a poor receiving corps.
Things hit rock bottom over the last four weeks when Sanchez ran into guard Brandon Moore’s backside and fumbled against the Patriots, was benched against the Cardinals after three interceptions and finally lost his job Monday night.
Will Sanchez ever play for the Jets again? Probably. Will he ever be viewed as the answer at quarterback for the team again? Never.
brian.costello@nypost.com