The stakes for Sunday’s wild-card game in Dallas may have just gotten even bigger. One NFL insider reports that a Cowboys loss to the 49ers could cost head coach Mike McCarthy his job, a move that would allow owner Jerry Jones to offer one of his heavily-courted coordinators the role in order to keep him in the building. The news comes as yet another team requests interviews with both Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore.
Elsewhere, oh yeah, there’s a playoff game to be played, too. The Cowboys’ phenom linebacker got some top-tier mentoring this week as he sets out on his own bid for postseason immortality. There’s plenty of debate over which Dallas defender will be tasked with shutting down 49ers tight end George Kittle; both Jayron Kearse and Donovan Wilson may get their shot Sunday. The big boss isn’t worried about a pro-San Francisco crowd, but the city’s airport may have just jinxed the home team by throwing around some smack talk on social media. All that, plus player rankings heading into the tournament, Ralph Neely’s widow speaks out on the toll that Cowboys football took on her late husband, and tragic news about a troubled ex-player. Here’s the News and Notes.