"That is the play that Mike McCarthy will not be able to live down." - NFL insider believes Dak Prescott's failed QB draw in playoffs could come back to bite Cowboys HC 

Mike Florio went on YouTube and posted a video talking about the 2021 season's defining plays. One of the first ones mentioned was the Cowboys' failed quarterback draw with Dak Prescott in the wild-card playoff game vs. the San Francisco 49ers.

"That is the play that Mike McCarthy will not be able to live down. And could contribute to him being out after this year unless he has a much better season, Miles than he did in 2021."

During the Cowboys-49ers wild-card game, the Cowboys made a rather interesting decision towards the end of the game.

Down by six points with 32 seconds left in the game, the Cowboys needed a touchdown to win. With no timeouts left and needing to score a touchdown from 80 yards away, it seemed improbable for Dallas to win.

The Cowboys gained two first downs on their first two plays and advanced past the 50-yard line, with 18 seconds remaining. On the next play, Dallas gained nine yards with a completion to tight-end Dalton Schultz as he was pushed out of bounds.

With 14 seconds left and no timeouts left, the Cowboys elected to call a risky play.

Dak Prescott ran a quarterback draw which gained 17 yards and put Dallas at San Francisco's 24-yard line, but with time expiring, the Cowboys were unable to spike the ball, allowing for another play.

The Cowboys received criticism after the game for the call and McCarthy took a lot of heat for it.

Who could replace Mike McCarthy after this season?

New Orleans Saints v Atlanta Falcons

If McCarthy doesn't help the team live up to expectations this year, he could possibly be fired.

If Dallas doesn't make the playoffs, it certainly would make sense to go in a different direction. There are a few candidates that would make sense to take over as the next Cowboys head coach.

Sean Payton would make sense because there were a lot of rumors this offseason of him taking the Cowboys job if McCarthy were to be let go.

McCarthy and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones even discussed this matter, so there could be some truth to the rumor.

Two more candidates that would make sense are either one of Dallas' coordinators.

Both Dan Quinn (defensive coordinator) and Kellen Moore (offensive coordinator) have done exceptionally well as coordinators in Dallas and will most likely be candidates for head-coaching jobs next offseason.