Seeing Mike McCarthy depart Dallas after five seasons is “devastating” for Micah Parsons and his Cowboys teammates.
When discussing the recent coaching shakeup on his “The Edge with Micah Parsons” podcast, the star linebacker expressed it’s “very sad” to see McCarthy, 61, leave due to the relationships cultivated over the past few years while previewing what’s expected to be an “interesting” offseason in Dallas.
“Obviously very sad because of the relationships we had with coach McCarthy and everything he’s done for our program,” Parsons, 25, said Tuesday, one day after McCarthy and the Cowboys announced they’d be parting ways.
“… It is devastating. Coach Mike’s a great father, coach, one of the most winningest coaches and he’s always been good to us as a unit to coaches, players. Losing a great coach like Mike hurts but it’s going to be a very interesting offseason.”
Originally hired in January 2020, McCarthy led the Cowboys to three postseason appearances and posted a 49-35 record as head coach.
McCarthy had been coaching on an expiring deal, fueling speculation week after week as to whether he’d return for 2025.
Though there appeared to be encouraging signs of re-upping the union — the Cowboys blocked the Bears from speaking to McCarthy last week — the two sides could not come together on a new deal, the length of the contract, in particular, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
“I have great respect for Mike, and he has led the team through some very unique and challenging times during his tenure,” owner Jerry Jones said in a statement Monday.
“… Prior to reaching the point of contract negotiations, though, it became mutually clear that it would be better for each of us to head in a different direction. I thank Mike and wish him, his wife Jessica and their family the best.”
Parsons, who made controversial comments about McCarthy’s future in November before endorsing the coach’s return, added he has faith in the Cowboys’ front office but recognized the organization is in for a “complete reset.”
“I trust my owner, I trust our GM,” the four-time Pro Bowler said. “… We’re going to make the right decision when it comes to coaching.”
Though Parsons addressed the buzz surrounding Cowboys greats Deion Sanders and Jason Witten, he called it “speculation.”
“We going to wait to see who gets hired, whose going to be our DC [defensive coordinator], our OC [offensive coordinator] cause it’s going to be a complete reset,” he said. “It’s going to be very interesting and then seeing how those guys envision players and who they want to bring in, who they want to keep, who they want to build around.”
The Cowboys picked up Parsons’ fifth-year option last April and he is due to make around $24 million this year, according to Spotrac.
If the Cowboys do not extend him, he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026.
Parsons was one of the many Cowboys players who was sidelined at one point in time during an injury-riddled 2024 campaign.
Dallas finished the year at 7-10 and missed the playoffs.
As for McCarthy, who previously won a Super Bowl as the Packers’ head coach, he is meeting with the Bears on Wednesday about their coaching vacancy.
