In a span of 18 hours, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan went from "sick" to ashamed. A 2-10 record will do that to you.

"I'm embarrassed for myself, absolutely," Ryan said Tuesday, describing the emotions of a lost season after the latest gut-punch in a season filled with them. "It's definitely embarrassing to me. I feel like I've let my owner down. I've let our fan base down. Yeah, of course, there's no doubt."

On Monday night, the Jets became only the fifth team in the last 30 years to rush for at least 277 yards and lose a game, a 16-13 heartbreaker to the Miami Dolphins.

Embattled Jets coach Rex Ryan said he's "embarrassed" by Monday night's loss. Leon Halip/Getty Images

They reached double-digit losses for the second time in three years, and this will be their fourth straight year out of the playoffs. Ryan appeared to have the franchise in the right direction after last season's unexpected 8-8 finish, but now he likely will be fired at the end of the season.

His current record is 44-48. He reached the AFC Championship Game in his first two seasons, 2009 and 2010, but his record over the last three years is 16-28.

Ryan declined to comment on his job security or a report that said he could land a multimillion dollar deal with a TV network if he's out of coaching in 2015. He said his only focus is the next opponent, the Minnesota Vikings.

Not that there was much suspense, but Geno Smith will remain the starting quarterback, according to Ryan. After a three-game benching, he returned to the lineup in what could be termed a highly unusual outing.

Handcuffed by a conservative game plan, Smith completed only seven of 13 passes for 65 yards, including a last-minute interception that ruined a chance for a game-tying field goal. It was the fewest number of attempts in a complete-game performance in the Ryan era, and also the fewest net passing yards (49).

Ryan came under heavy criticism for the game plan, which showed little faith in Smith's ability to throw the ball. Until the final drive, Smith had only eight attempts.

"I've seen everyone questioning what we did offensively, but we never went into the game thinking we were going to throw it only 13 times," Ryan said.

He cited a few reasons for the imbalance, but the primary factor was he wanted to establish the running game to neutralize the Dolphins' formidable pass rush. The Jets rushed for 210 yards in the first half, the most by a team since 2009, and they decided to keep hammering it on the ground even though they weren't nearly as productive after halftime.

None of the players publicly questioned the strategy.

"We were running the ball great and we stuck to it -- and the goal is to win the game no matter how you do it," Smith said.

Ryan felt they controlled the game from the outset, blaming the loss on two missed field goals, a partially blocked punt and two dropped interceptions.

Quite honestly, if we make the two field goals and we don't get sacked out of another one, we probably aren't having the conversation," he said.

But it has been that kind of year for the Jets. In a Week 7 loss to the New England Patriots, they became the first team in history to lose with 200 rushing yards, 40 minutes of possession time and no giveaways.

Now there's concern about perhaps their most consistent player, placekicker Nick Folk, who complained after the game of a hip-flexor injury - a possible explanation for his two misses.

Folk will be monitored throughout the week. Preparing a contingency plan, the Jets worked out free agent Andrew Furney on Tuesday. He kicked for them in the preseason.