FRISCO, Texas -- Everyone that is a part of the Dallas Cowboys' 3-6 start to the 2024 season, which includes an active four-game losing streak, is extremely frustrated.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said as much and delved into his criteria for making coaching decisions with head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff in the final year of their current contracts. Fill-in starting quarterback Cooper Rush isn't happy leading a unit that committed five turnovers, including two fumbles of his own, in Dallas' 34-6 Week 10 loss on Sunday. Three-time All-Pro Micah Parsons said the defense needs to "be the light, even when it's dark as f---" with the Cowboys' battered offense struggling.
With Jones speaking so openly about his coaching decisions in terms of when he has and hasn't let go of head coaches, that led to players being asked about McCarthy's job security with the team sitting at 3-6 after three consecutive 12-win seasons. Parsons' comments on the situation came across as a pointed critique of McCarthy, even though that wasn't his intent.
"That's above my pay grade about if Mike [McCarthy] is coaching against next year," Parsons said postgame. "All coaching aside, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants. I kind of feel bad for guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year on their way out. Because that's who I wanted to hold the trophy for. You want to win games and do great with those types of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did. Those are the kind of guys I have so much sympathy and hurt for."
That comment led to Parsons and McCarthy meeting Monday morning to smooth everything out, and the two left the meeting on the same page that the Cowboys' superstar wasn't attempting to undermine his head coach.
"I think like anything with post-game remarks, really any remarks, if those create questions for others in the locker room, a conversation has to happen," McCarthy said Monday. "Micah and I had a conversation this morning about it. Handled those things as men should handle it. That wasn't his intent. That's something he can talk on. The other part of it too is what comes out of this all the way around, the questions for others. Also, I don't want to see any of my players get attacked, also, from the other side of this, too. .... We've just got to keep it about football and bear down on the things we know we need to improve on, build on some of the things we felt like we got better throughout these games coming out of the bye. These are the things you need to eliminate from your culture. Conversations bring resolution. I think this is an example of that."
Parsons also made public remarks on his podcast, "The Edge with Micah Parsons" following their morning meeting to attempt to clarify his phrasing around the futures of coaches in football.
"I never once threw or even intended to throw Mike McCarthy under the bus," Parsons said Monday on his podcast. "Like I said, he is one of the most winningest coaches (170 wins, tied for 15th-most in NFL history), he is a Super Bowl champ. I never brought up his past. The question that was asked was about here in the Dallas Cowboys, did I see Mike McCarthy in our future? I said 'That's above my pay grade.' Never once have I intended or wanted to reflect on Mike McCarthy's career because I always knew he was a good one. I've always had a good relationship with Mike McCarthy, and I never even put that in question. ... When you play football, all coaching aside, you can look at college. You can look at even the pro's. Coaches, their careers are way longer. They can decide to take a better job. They can move on. You see that a lot from DCs, OCs. Head-coaching positions, sometimes a better job opening just opens up. You truly never know. You never know how the dice is going to roll with coaches."
Parsons did indeed double down on the portion of his original quote in which he declared players have a way bigger impact than coaches, particularly when talking about nine-time Pro Bowl and seven-time first-team All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, who is in his 11th season with the Cowboys and about to turn 34 years old on Nov. 20.
"When you're talking about guys you're consistently going to war with man, guys that I have seen. Guys like (left tackle) Tyron [Smith] and (right guard) Zack [Martin] barely can walk throughout the week, take a Toradol and go out there and play. Being half a man basically and giving us their best effort. When you see those types of things and see guys pushing through injuries and so much difficulty that it is to play in this league, yes 100% of the time I'm going to always choose the brother that we're going to bleed with and work with because in the end, it's a small group of us," Parsons said Monday. "There is no politics out there on that football field. I understand what he meant to the Dallas Cowboys organization because I'm only worried about what happens at the Dallas organization, man. It truly bothers me how negativity that we choose to put out there. Not once did I want this quote to be a negative moment. I only wanted it to be a positive light and shine light on guys like Zack Martin, who may or may not be a Cowboy next year. Going to be a Ring of Honor guy, a Hall of Fame guy. I just know that he added so much value to the Cowboys that he will be missed."
Lots of people assume that athletes get plenty of media training from public relations staffs, and they do. However, McCarthy doesn't feel the need to tell his players how to answer about his future for two reasons: they're adults, and he would rather them be themselves.
"No I don't. They're grown men. They need to answer it the way they feel they need to answer it," McCarthy said. "You [the media] have a job to do. We have a job to do. It's our responsibility to deal with the media. I think being genuine is important. I think, giving rote answers just leads to follow-up questions. Good reporters like yourself will do follow-ups and just keep going after it. I've never stood up there and said, 'You need to say this, this and this' to that question.' I don't think that's real. These guys know what they're doing."
However, needing to take the time to chat with Parsons on Monday morning did delay McCarthy's preparations for the Cowboys Week 11 "Monday Night Football" opponent, the AFC South-leading Houston Texans (6-4). That is something he would like to avoid amidst a four-game losing streak.
"When you're losing multiple games, definitely. I just look at how much time ... today is a great example. how much time I've spent on the Houston Texans, I think I'm on play six of the Detroit game," McCarthy said. "That's what these type of things bring. And that's why, frankly, I think it's harder when you win. Handling success to me has always been the biggest challenge in this. We have a great opportunity to be in an adverse situation as a group of men to go do something people don't think we can do. ... Most of the times come out on the other end, and that's what I'm focused on. ... I think all of these guys, we all need to focus on our mental space, take care of ourselves and hug our families, because they're the ones that have to listen to most of this stuff. But, we need to just keep it about football. If we're not working on football, our opponent is an hour or two better than us already. That's my message."
Jones did warn McCarthy back in 2021, his first non-pandemic season, that being the head coach of the Cowboys would be different than any other job he has had in terms of media scrutiny, among other things. McCarthy is seeing that conversation come to life now.
"I just remember a conversation that Jerry and I had. It was insightful," McCarthy said. "He said, 'You know, this is a difficult job to be a head coach.' ... He was right on the money."