The Dallas Cowboys are heading home to Texas on Thursday after weeks away at training camp in Oxnard, California, and following the team's final padded practice on the west coast Wednesday, three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons became reflective.
Not about how he plays the game of football. So far through three seasons, he has that component of life in the NFL on lock. Parsons is one of just five players since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to total at least 40 (40.5) in his first three NFL seasons. Parsons had his best all-around campaign in 2023 by leading the league in quarterback pressures (103), quarterback pressure rate (21.8%) and pass-rush win rate (35.3%). Parsons additionally amassed a career-high 14.0 sacks, tied with 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett for the seventh-most in the NFL.
Parsons accomplished all of this while being double-teamed on 35% of his pass rushes last season, the most in the NFL among edge players, per the NFL's Next Gen Stats. There wasn't another edge rusher in the NFL who was double-teamed at a rate of 30% or higher in 2023.
What Parsons opened up about specifically was about how and who he is as a leader.
"I think I got the crown and I need to build up my guys around me and make sure we're all ready," Parsons said on Wednesday. "At the end of the day, I realized I'm only as good as the worst person."
Parsons' leadership received scrutiny this offseason. He skipped out on postgame media availability in the immediate aftermath of the postseason defeat against the Packers while others, like quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, took questions from media members. Parsons then no-showed the Cowboys' locker room cleanout media availability the following day. Parsons waited to make comments about the defeat on his "The Edge with Micah Parsons" podcast during which he cited embarrassment about the loss as a reason for his actions after the game.
Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy called him out for skipping out on the second week of the Cowboys' organized team activities in May, calling it "an opportunity that's been missed." When he did show up for the mandatory minicamp, McCarthy praised Parsons' presence as a positive "360" effect for both the offense and defense.
Parsons watched the Super Bowl at the Delilah lounge inside of the Wynn Las Vegas hotel with Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman. Sherman, a 2010's All-Decade Team member and Super Bowl champion corner with the Seattle Seahawks expressed his disappointment with how the Cowboys disappointed in their 48-32 wild card round loss against the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers. Whitworth, a retired four-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle who won a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, preached lessons of maturity to the 25-year-old.
The three-time All-Pro listened with an open mind, and after speaking the the NFL's G.O.A.T Tom Brady, whom Parsons said he spoke with four or five times this offseason, and Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis, whom he spoke with at the Pro Bowl, Parsons had an awakening: he needs to be better as a leader.
"I think it was a harsh reality and a reality check for me within myself and my self-evaluations," Parsons said. "I got to do the best that I can, not only to make myself better but bring along other guys and I feel like I needed that, and I had the conversations early on and you want to strike when the pot's hot."
He was also conscious about how his teammates perceive him as a leader. Cowboys safety Malik Hooker chastised Parsons on retired NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson's "All Facts No Brakes" podcast on June 27.
"Honestly man, and this is me: I'm one of those guys that isn't into that type of stuff," Hooker said on June 27. "Some guys it works for [them]. You see the Jason Kelces and the guys like that who are successful with the podcast as well as performing on the field and having success with it. I don't have a problem with it. I feel like a lot of these guys just get on there sometimes, and they start falling into the part of just saying stuff for the clicks and having people come view and stuff like that. I don't have a problem with it. My thing would be though, my advice for Micah would be just make sure we [the Dallas Cowboys defense] alright and being where your feet are. If we're at work and the run game is terrible, but you're doing a podcast every week and you know the run game is terrible, what are you really caring about? Are you caring about the crowd that is watching your podcast or are you caring about the success of our team, and the Super Bowl that we're trying to reach."
That said, Hooker doesn't hold a grudge toward his superstar teammate because of the podcast given Parsons is only entering his fourth year in the league and has only experienced being on 12-win teams in each of his first three seasons.
"A lot of people have to remember Micah is still young," Hooker said. "He is still trying to find his way and grow into who he is trying to be. I give him grace. I always hear people say stuff that he said on the podcast or something silly he said, but Micah is still a big kid. You can't fault a big kid for trying to expand as well as experience stuff he hasn't been through. Micah has only been in the league four years. He hasn't been through real adversity yet in the league. He hasn't seen that yet. I feel like over time and over these next couple years of experiencing adversity, you'll see him start to change in how he approaches stuff like that like the podcast. It don't bother me my guy. I'm one of those guys that wants to focus on my play. If I feel like it's affecting my play or our play as a defense, I'll have something to say. I don't really pay that much attention to it."
Parsons has taken Hooker's words to heart, mentoring 2023 first-round defensive tackle Mazi Smith and challenging him to do more going forward after a disappointing rookie season.
"The growth [Smith] has made, the thing is he wants to get better," Parsons said. "'He'll be like 'are you going to be on me today?' 'Hell yeah I'm going to be on you bro. I need you you bro.' We need each other to win this championship. That's what it takes man. It's not just me helping him get better. He wants to get better. He wants to be in better shape. He doesn't want to let anyone down. That's the kind of person he is. The person of Mazi is what I care about. ... Mazi is so engaged, so active and getting better man. I couldn't be more proud."
Despite the criticism about the podcast, Parsons does plan to continue his show called "The Edge" on Bleacher Report, calling it something he does during his free time away from football.
"I don't think no one really cares what I'm doing on a Monday afternoon," Parsons said. "I'm at home with my kids. Why would [fans] care if I'm on Xbox? We all get our own free time away from here. Are y'all [media members] thinking about me away from here? I hope not."
Between McCarthy's messaging this offseason and the wisdom gained from both Brady and Lewis, he has learned he can be and needs to be more than someone who just leads by example in a style that works for himself.
"I kind of went to my mentors this offseason: 'How do I approach this? How do I get better at this?'" Parsons said. "This is a task I never had to take on in my life. I think my whole life, I was pretty much, 'Micah is going to do what Micah is going to do.' I just expected everyone else to do that. As you learn what leadership is, some people need a pat on the back and some people need a push up to say 'hey, we need a little bit more out of you' because everyone is not built the same."
Parsons stepping up as leader couldn't come at more critical juncture for the Cowboys as a franchise. Three of the longest-tenured Dallas players in nine-time Pro Bowl right guard Zack Martin, four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott are all entering the final years of their contracts in Dallas. Conventional wisdom in how the Cowboys typically handle extensions for top players, waiting until the last minute before paying near or at the top of the market value. It would be shocking to to see Jerry Jones not re-sign Prescott and allow him to depart to a new team, but 2024 could be the last hurrah for both Martin and Lawrence as Cowboys. That's why Parsons' drive to up his leadership ability couldn't have come at a better time for Dallas.
"If we lose, I just don't want it to be like I didn't do everything I could to make everyone else around me [better]," Parsons said. "I think last year I didn't check that box and that's something I want everyone on the same level. That's why you constantly see me running in the middle of practice. I want to make sure that I can't preach something and they not see me doing it. They have to see me. ... I have to be in the best shape for them and they need to be in the best shape for me. I'm just trying to show so much positive leadership. ... I just want to check all the boxes so that when the playoffs and the season come around, everyone is just locked in on the same page. It's going to be like a breath of fresh air."