IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said it was time for a culture change at Valley Ranch.

Monday afternoon, Jones fired coach Wade Phillips following a distasteful 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

"An in-season coaching change is not something I've done before, something I was reluctant to do as recently as last week," Jones said. "But I think what's best for the organization and the fans is a coaching change."

The Sunday night loss to the Packers forced Jones' hand to fire Phillips, a man he just gave a two-year contract extension to in 2010 for leading the Cowboys to their first playoff win in over a decade.

Jones will move on with assistant head coach Jason Garrett in the lead role on an interim basis.

Jones also announced that Paul Pasqualoni will be the Cowboys new defensive coordinator, taking over the role that Phillips had also been filling. Pasqualoni was the team's defensive line coach.

The end for Phillips came after the Packers loss extended Dallas'

losing streak to five games as the Cowboys -- who began the season with Super Bowl expectations -- fell to 1-7 overall.

"We also clearly understand we're not where we want to be at this time and that's an understatement," Jones said. "We also share the responsibility in that. All of us."

Phillips ends his time in Dallas with a 35-23 record, having won two NFC East titles and getting the Cowboys' first playoff victory since 1996. Phillips is 83-65 overall as a head coach.

Phillips, who didn't return a phone call seeking comment, said in a statement: "I am disappointed in the results of this season to this point, but I am also very proud of what our team and our players accomplished in the previous three years."

Jones, who had never fired a coach in-season since purchasing the team in 1989, had said multiple times that Phillips would finish out this season. The owner cited research showing interim coaches are not successful and that was a deterrent for him making the change. But the Cowboys' five-game slide -- during which they've been outscored 179-107 -- made it difficult for Jones to keep Phillips in place. In two of the games during the losing streak, Phillips questioned the passion of his team and wasn't sure if he lost them.

"Anytime a coach gets fired, it's an indictment of the football team,"

quarterback Jon Kitna said. "I hope it serves as a wake-up call for the guys around here. So when they start making decisions like that, it's just a prelude to things to come for changes on the football team."