The way it should be handled:

Jerry Jones steps up this morning, announces at Valley Ranch that he has ordered Pac-Rat to pack up, be gone immediately, never to return.

And if Jerry goes gutless and lets it ride?

Then Jerry is living a lie, because as the full escapades of Call-Me-Adam Jones began to surface Wednesday night, first on a local CBS-11 report, it became obvious Pacman repeatedly has made a fool of the only man in the NFL who wanted to help him. That's you, Jerry.

Pac-Rat can't help himself. He ran the streets nightly as those who are on the streets have been seeing for months. Pacman has repeatedly defied Jerry's orders, even last week after our man Clarence Hill reported that Mr. Jones had strongly warned Pacman about his "visibility."

Yet, the Pacster changed nothing in his lifestyle. He continued to go out for nightlife fun, and Jerry's bodyguards continued to tag along. Pac-Rat, it seems, was ordering around security, instead of vice versa.

The poop finally hit the marble floors of a downtown Dallas hotel Tuesday night, when Pacman fought with one of his own security guards while attending a film preview party for a rapper.

Reportedly, it was a violent struggle, with the Dallas Police Department finally being called. What else is there to say? Jerry should show Pacman the exit before Roger Goodell, who in a twist of irony was at Valley Ranch on Wednesday, does what the commissioner must do. Suspend Pac-Rat again.

Goodell has the final say on this guy. No way he can let this incident slide, particularly once the whole truth surfaces, going beyond merely the Tuesday night fight. Pacman has made a fool out of Goodell, the same as he did Jerry.

Now, there's one hole card Jerry can deal, if he's spineless enough to call in that card. No charges were filed. The security guard works for Jerry. He's not going to file. The hotel doesn't want the publicity, or the possible wrath of a team fandom, so even a plush joint becomes a no-tell motel in these cases.

But Jerry "knows". Goodell, if he doesn't know, will soon get the entire story.

All of Nashville, including respected Titans coach Jeff Fisher, told us Pac-Rat was an idiot. All of Nashville was right.

And for those told-you-so barbs now being aimed my way, OK, I'm guilty of agreeing with the base premise of bringing in Pacman. Yes, the conditions were right — the price to trade for him was low, and the price of keeping him, salary-wise, was also low. Plus, Jerry couldn't protect him in case of street problems, because this would be Goodell's call.

But the warning from others was this:

If the Cowboys were depending on Pacman to make the secondary better, and if he became a productive player, then a huge void would suddenly hit the team if Jones was removed from the roster during the season.

Bingo. The secondary is now struggling due to an injured Terence Newman, the slow progress of No. 1 draft pick Mike Jenkins and the rather disappointing play of Anthony Henry. Against Cincinnati last week, Pac-Rat was the team's best cornerback, and appeared to be overcoming a slow start to his season.

This timing of a hotel fight couldn't be worse from a team standpoint. Can't say I wasn't repeatedly warned this exact scenario could unfold, and probably would due to the Pac-Rat being a very stupid person.

Jerry, for his part, attempted to baby-sit Pacster from the start, and the presence of bodyguards once the Cowboys returned to town from training camp was considered laughable in the beginning. Now we know they were Pac's shadow for a reason. Jerry never trusted this guy to do right, and was hoping a show of force would curtail Pacman. No such luck.

Again, a Tuesday night fight with a bodyguard, as we would learn Wednesday, was not an isolated incident where things got out of hand after a rare night on the town. It has been party-time every night for Pacster. And continuing with his well-documented history, sooner or later, trouble will find Pacman.

It's an interesting Thursday morning call for Jerry. Does he man up, and ship out a fool who played him for a fool, or does he run scared over the current state of the Cowboys' defense, particularly the secondary, and try to hide behind the "no charges were filed" alibi.

Either way, what does Goodell think of being pimp-slapped by a player the commissioner gave a "seventh" chance when he reinstated Pacman this summer? Seven was not enough for this rodent.

Dump him, Jerry. It might hurt your team, but at least you won't have a problem this morning looking in the mirror.