The only thing that changes are the names. The results are always the same. Always gut-wrenchingly the same.

Now it's time for a new coach and time for a new quarterback.

Same as it's always been. Same ... Old ... Jets. Again.

A home loss to the quarterback who was thrown in the garbage less than five months earlier. You knew it would come to this. You knew it would be Chad Pennington to drive home the dagger and, for good measure, give it a twist.

Dolphins 24, Jets 17.

No playoffs - again - for a franchise whose post-Super Bowl III curse is now 40 years old and shows no sign of relenting.

No Brett Favre miracle on the final day of the season to somehow pull the Jets out of the muck of the previous month.

Even if Favre had summoned one last magnificent performance, it would have gone for naught. By virtue of wins by the Patriots and Ravens, the Jets wouldn't have made the playoffs if Favre had thrown 10 touchdown passes.

Instead, he provided more proof that he is finished as an NFL quarterback. With one touchdown pass, three interceptions, a 45.1 rating and a damaged throwing shoulder, Favre had only two TDs and nine INTs in his last five games. After getting to 8-3 with impressive road wins over New England and Tennessee, Favre lost four of them, and was fortunate that he didn't lose all five.

After the collapse was completed yesterday, he explained exactly where his arm hurt: in the back of his shoulder, down his biceps and near his neck. Other than that, he's just fine.

He's done, people. Finished. Had the Jets had any foresight, they'd have concluded the same thing before trading for him in August instead of wishing upon a star and pulling the trigger on a deal that left Pennington free as a bird and bound for Miami.

This one's on everyone: owner Woody Johnson, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric Mangini.

Fellas, you blew it.

And it isn't revisionist history to say I told you so. While the rest of the New York media and most of the fan base were fawning over the prospects of acquiring the aging Favre, I said at the time that it wouldn't work, that Pennington still was the best option.

Sure, I'll admit to wondering about that notion at 8-3, but the way Favre has fallen off a cliff the last five weeks, it's obvious the Jets lost their gamble. In hideous fashion.

That Pennington orchestrated the final indignity at the stadium where he was never appreciated enough by the fans and his employers only added to the disgrace.

Favre said he'll take the next few weeks to decide whether he wants to come back next season. But what's to decide? He is 39 years old, has a bum shoulder and ended just like the aging quarterbacks before him.

It is over. And if the Jets think for a minute that Favre is worth bringing back next season, they're in greater denial than anyone could have imagined.

He has enjoyed a mostly terrific 18-year career, accompanied by the boyish enthusiasm we all love to see from professional athletes. But for three of the last four seasons, he has been a descending player, and this year, he bottomed out. Given Favre's 22 touchdown passes, his NFL-worst 22 interceptions and his aching shoulder that could very well require surgery, it is time for the Jets to move on.

Matt Cassel, Kellen Clemens. Brett Ratliff. Whoever. There is no way Favre should be back next year at age 40 to give us more of this.

The purge shouldn't end with Favre. Mangini has to go, too. He is as much at fault for the late-season nosedive as anyone. There is zero charisma in the guy, he is out-coached regularly, and his team plays with the same lack of emotion he shows when he stands expressionless and with arms folded at midfield.

Three years into his tenure, there is only a first-year playoff berth with the quarterback he threw out on his ear in August.

Tannenbaum went out and got enough players in a $140- million spending spree, and although I fault him for the Favre trade, he still gave Mangini enough to work with around the quarterback. For that reason, I say he stays and gets to hire one more coach.

But he and Johnson - who has grown weary of Mangini's act in recent weeks, according to a source familiar with the Jets' situation - need to at least find out if Bill Cowher is willing to coach.

If that's not an option, ask Marty Schottenheimer. If Bill Parcells opts out of his contract with the Dolphins, go talk to him about running the front office, with Tannenbaum still a part of the leadership.

Go find the next Mike Smith, who in his first season led the Falcons to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback. Find the next Tony Sparano, who in his first year got the Dolphins to the playoffs with the quarterback the Jets kicked to the curb.

Find someone, because Mangini is not the answer.

Shouldering the blame

Brett Favre has to take a major share of the blame for the Jets' 1-4 finish. Breaking down his season:

FIRST 11 GAMES (8-3)

Completions: 245

Attempts: 349

Comp. pct.: 70.2

Yards/game: 223.7

TDs: 20

INTs: 13

LAST 5 GAMES (1-4)

Completions: 98

Attempts: 173

Comp. pct.: 56.7

Yards/game: 202.2

TDs: 2

INTs: 9