In seven years as the New York Jets' general manager, Mike Tannenbaum signed off on more than 1,000 player transactions. One will follow him forever -- the ill-fated trade for Tim Tebow, which, 10 months later, remains a "Whodunit?"

In his first interview since being fired at the end of the season, Tannenbaum took responsibility for the trade. He acknowledged it was a failure, but he expressed no regrets.

"I'm disappointed it didn't work out, just like I'm disappointed when certain draft choices don't work out," Tannenbaum told ESPNNewYork.com Tuesday. "We put in a lot of time and effort. We had a rationale for it. At the end of the day, it didn't go as we had planned."

That's an understatement. Tebow was used sparingly and his presence became a season-long distraction for the Jets, who finished 6-10. Just recently, retired special-teams coach Mike Westhoff called the Tebow situation "an absolute mess." Tannenbaum refused to go that far.

"It's just a trade that didn't work out," he said. "Each year, we'll make 200-plus transactions. Some worked out, some didn't."

Tannenbaum confirmed he hatched the idea to pursue Tebow, who became expendable when the Denver Broncos signed Peyton Manning last March.