Micah Parsons created quite the firestorm following the Dallas Cowboys’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday when he made comments seemingly dismissive of his team’s head coach, Mike McCarthy.
“Mike can leave and go wherever he wants,” Parsons said, per Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “Guys I kind of feel bad for [are] guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or on their way out. Because that’s who I wanted to hold the trophy for. You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did.
“Those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for.”
Unsurprisingly, Parsons’ comments provided plenty of fodder for ESPN’s morning shows on Monday, with the Worldwide Leader’s on-screen talent unanimously taking the All-Pro pass-rusher to task. Damien Woody said that the comments represented the issue with having “podcast boys” in the locker room, while Rex Ryan referred them as “bulls**t” — a statement Get Up host Mike Greenberg co-signed.
It didn’t take Parsons long to respond — as Woody noted, he is a podcaster after all. And on the latest episode of The Edge with Micah Parsons, the Penn State product fired back at Ryan, suggesting that the former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach had ulterior motives for his comments.
“For a guy like Rex Ryan, I just know he wanted to coach the Cowboys,” Parsons said, alluding to Ryan’s interest in Dallas’ defensive coordinator position last offseason. “I’m perfectly happy that we have [Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer], because if we have a guy that’s willing to go on TV and provide this type of nonsense, imagine what he could do to a locker room. That’s just honestly outrageous to me.”
Micah Parsons responds to his recent critics — in particular, ESPN analysts Rex Ryan and Damien Woody — and explains what he meant regarding his comments about Mike McCarthy’s future with the #DallasCowboys…
(Video courtesy Bleacher Report)#Cowboys #NFL pic.twitter.com/IJ7ZA3r3hR
— Pat Doney (@PatDoneyNBC5) November 12, 2024
Parsons also took aim at Woody for comments the former Pro Bowl offensive lineman had made about the injuries he has battled throughout the Cowboys’ 2024 campaign.
“A guy like Woody — a former player, he’s a Super Bowl champ. He should know the significance of throwing out someone’s injury. Like I wanted to get injured,” Parsons said. “That’s blatant disrespect. I had never missed a game in my career — not college, not high school. Not even up until four or five weeks ago [due] to injury… someone who’s been around teams and legends at that, that’s how I know we all have to see through the B.S. of what these TV analysts are trying to do.”
Parsons proceeded to clarify that it was never his intent to throw McCarthy under the bus and that he was merely speaking about the realities of the NFL and the reverence he has for teammates like Martin. But if the 25-year-old thought this news cycle would end with his response, he still has some learning to do, as it only gave ESPN an excuse to make the Cowboys its main character for another day.
