Loss should be Wade Phillips' last with Dallas Cowboys

Oct. 21--ST. LOUIS -- It was right there in front of Jerry Jones' eyes. And he missed it.

There is no more shining example of how the radical move of an in-season head coaching change can work than the one being offered by the St. Louis Rams.

Dead in the water at 0-4, the Rams fired Scott Linehan during their bye week and promoted Jim Haslett.

Last week's two-point win over Washington seemed a bit of a fluke, predicated as it was on gathering in three Redskins fumbles.

There was nothing remotely lucky about the Rams' thorough 34-14 destruction of the Cowboys at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday.

What has been gathering steam for a month reached something of a crescendo as the Cowboys played by far their worst game of the Wade Phillips era. And frankly, it should be the last game of the Phillips era, but Jones made it clear afterward that there will be no coaching changes made.

"It really isn't about changes people-wise as much as it is changes within the people, within the coaches and players," Jones said.

No, Jerry, it really is about changing the people. This team is 1-3 over the last four weeks, a win over winless Cincinnati the only highlight.

Paying Phillips to fade off into the sunset would not cure all of this team's problems by any means. For one thing, the presumed next head coach, Jason Garrett, has for now removed himself from the "hot coordinators" list with his work over the last four weeks.

Phillips' low-key demeanor and aw-shucks approach elevated a team that had been beaten down by four years under Bill Parcells. But all of that is gone now.

It's just a team of uninspired excuse makers who take their cue from the head coach.

To his credit, Phillips didn't offer any of his trademark excuses Sunday, but, really, he couldn't. This wasn't about a break or two here or there, a blocked punt, a game that got away.