With a 41-35 loss to the NY Giants on Monday night the Dallas Cowboys fall to 1-5 and sit in last place in the NFC East. Many prognosticators pegged the Cowboys as the first team ever to host a super bowl in their home stadium. Now with the loss of Tony Romo to a broken clavicle, all super bowl hopes can be flushed down the toilet and the boys can begin to look to next season.

Jerry Jones has repeatedly backed Wade Phillips and with an ego the size of Texas, do not look for a change midseason. Replacing Phillips would also require the hiring of a new defensive coordinator and no one on the current staff has stood out. After all, this Dallas team gave up over 500 yards of offense and 31 points in a 15 minute stretch to the Giants. The secondary was repeatedly torched making Eli Manning look like older brother Peyton going 14 for 15 with 3 touchdowns in that same stretch.

Phillips has won one playoff game in his tenure. His teams are sloppy and undisciplined which reflects in averaging almost 10 penalties a game this season. In a must win game the Cowboys looked flat despite 2 early interceptions. Phillips lacks fire and often looks lost or stoned standing on the sidelines. The "gosh shucks" approach is not going to cut it for much longer in Dallas.

Look for Tony Sparano as a possible replacement. Sparano is everything Phillips isn't, tough, passionate, and disciplined. He looks like a football coach, stalking the sidelines in dark shades to protect his eyes from bright lights after suffering an eye injury as a teenager. Sparano took the Dolphins to the playoffs the year after a dismal 1-15 season.

Most people think Jones will want to make a splash with a big name coach like Bill Cowher, yet Sparano has a history with the Cowboys and is used to having someone constantly looking over his shoulder after working with Bill Parcells. Dolphins new owner Stephen Ross has long been rumored to have interest in Carl Peterson as a potential replacement for Parcells as vice president of football operations. Peterson would most likely want to hire his own man to coach the Dolphins, opening the door for Sparano and the Cowboys. Those shades may come in handy in the bright lights of "Big D."