"Santonio Holmes will — from now until the moment his stay with the Jets ends badly (and it will eventually end badly) — be blamed for his selfish, boorish behavior that has completely contradicted his title as a team captain.

But someone must take responsibility for enabling Holmes by handing him that captaincy, a title that has rankled many of his teammates all season.

The enabler is Rex Ryan.

Ryan giving Holmes the title of captain was like a father handing the keys and a bottle of booze to his 16-year-old son and telling him to "party on'' with the new sports car.

Ryan, clearly trying to make the moody Holmes feel like one of his guys by naming him a captain, unwittingly poured a pint of acid into the chemistry of his team and the brew has been spoiled since.

Thanks in part to Holmes' embarrassing behavior, yesterday's 19-17 season-ending loss to the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium was symptomatic of what has been plaguing the Jets all year. This team has been devoid of leadership from inside its locker room and it has been crippling.

The decision to make Holmes a captain has been Ryan's worst coaching move since he was hired."