Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons had already addressed the controversial remarks he made about head coach Mike McCarthy earlier this month, but he hadn’t spoken directly to the media about the issue until Thursday.
“…When I’m talking about here [the] Dallas Cowboys and what was accomplished the most, I’m thinking about the guys, and I’ve only ever been here. So obviously no disrespect to [McCarthy’s] career and what he’s made for himself as one of the most winningest coaches,” Parsons said, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer. “I could have done better.
I was angry and I just didn’t finish, and I wasn’t as thoughtful as I usually am. I didn’t think people would take that context the way it was. That’s on me. I lost [the game], I didn’t want to finish, and I wanted to hurry up out of the locker room. Next time I will be very careful about what I say. So that’s my apologies.”
Parsons caused some controversy after the Cowboys’ 34-6 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 10. He said he was more concerned about how veteran players felt about McCarthy’s uncertain future than about the team’s losing season.
McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, and many believe that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones will let him go in January unless Dallas turns things around with a strong run starting with this Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders.
As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Dallas as a 10.5-point underdog for the game. Among the Cowboys’ challenges this fall, they will also be without starting quarterback Dak Prescott for the rest of the season.
“The most important thing is obviously how much love I have for coach McCarthy,” Parsons added on Thursday. “You never want to throw shade or anything on your coach. But I think like anything, him understanding I’m always going to be a players’ guy first, right? I’m always going to think about the guys around me before anyone.
That’s who I go to war with. Those are the guys that are leaning on me and I’m leaning on them. That’s how we feed our families. That’s kind of what I wanted to get across. We hashed it out, it was all good and gravy.”
There have been stories linking the Cowboys with big-name coaches like Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel. Whether Parsons has “much love” for McCarthy might not matter when it comes to the Cowboys’ future beyond Week 18, but his latest comments suggest that this issue can now be put to rest ahead of Thanksgiving.
