Depending on how the Cowboys perform in the playoffs, Mike McCarthy might lose his job.

After a 12-5 regular season, the Dallas Cowboys will secure the NFC’s No. 2 seed with a victory on Sunday. It might not be sufficient, depending on how the playoffs play out, to keep coach Mike McCarthy in his position.

Based on his performance in the playoffs, Adam Schefter of ESPN believes that McCarthy’s employment fate might be determined. Even in the Cowboys organization, there is a notion that McCarthy might be dismissed for nothing more than a humiliating season-ending loss.

Another complicating factor is the status of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Cowboys think very highly of Quinn and would love to keep him, even though he may be in contention for head coaching jobs again. If the Cowboys do make a change, they have a potential replacement in Quinn already on their coaching staff. That had already been floated as a potential outcome when rumors first surfaced about McCarthy potentially being on the hot seat.

McCarthy is in his fourth season as Dallas head coach, and is 41-25 in the regular season ahead of Sunday’s finale. He has gone just 1-2 in the playoffs, however, with a record marred by two bad losses to the San Francisco 49ers that were at least partly down to some horrendous mismanagement. Another one of those and McCarthy may not be given another chance.