NFL Rumors: Dallas Cowboys could fire Mike McCarthy, promote Kellen Moore as HC

Going into Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy seemed to be on solid ground. McCarthy led the Cowboys to the NFC East title and a 12-5 regular-season record.

But after Sunday's loss, McCarthy appears to be in trouble. Rumors have already begun circulating that his job may be on the line and that team owner Jerry Jones might opt to show him the door as Cowboys head coach sooner rather than later.

The obvious choice for the Cowboys, if Mike McCarthy is fired, would be their current offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore. As one of the hottest names among the NFL coaching pool, Moore is the leading candidate for several head coaching positions, including the Miami Dolphins. Moore's offense, despite only scoring 17 points in the loss, led the NFL in scoring, which is why he is so highly sought after.

When asked about Mike McCarthy's status, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones refused to comment on the issue, which at the time was probably not good news for the Dallas' second year head coach.

Jones is not exactly known for his patience with head coaches. This is a man who essentially forced the resignation of Hall of Fame head coach Jimmy Johnson, who led the Cowboys to two Super Bowl wins in the 1990's. He also got rid of friend Barry Switzer, who won the Cowboys' last Super Bowl in 1996.

Why Mike McCarthy is on the hot seat

Mike McCarthy spent nearly 13 seasons as the Green Bay Packers head coach and took them to the Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers. But after the Packers struggled to get back to the top with whom many consider the best passer in the game, he was eventually fired. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would later decide to hire him, seemingly because of his longevity and relative success in Green Bay.

But all has not gone well so far in McCarthy's tenure as head coach. Although his team had a successful year, they still came up short in their first playoff game. In fact, due to the somewhat humililating fashion in which they lost, some might suggest that part of the blame falls on McCarthy as the head coach.

It was Mike McCarthy who made the final decision on that last play, which cost his team the game, and it was the head coach's responsibility to make sure his Cowboys team was disciplined enough not to give away 14 penalties, which played a huge factor in the game's outcome as well.

The Cowboys had problems all season with clock management and penalities as they finished the season as the most penalized team this season with 127. It all seemed to finally catch up to them on Sunday, and it appears time is about to run out for Mike McCarthy too.