Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel: Micah Parsons 'would be fantastic' returning kickoffs

Micah Parsons wants to find more ways to get on the field. But can you envision the ace Cowboys pass rusher as a kick returner?

Well, he’s volunteered. And maybe the Cowboys could find a use him as a returnman with the new return rules that are set to debut this fall.

John Fassel, who coaches Dallas special teams, wants him back there. But the decision is above his pay grade. After all, Parsons is one of the best defenders in the NFL. The Cowboys don’t want to risk an injury with one of their biggest stars.

“You know Micah. So, he has lobbied me in the past to just be the primary kickoff returner,” Fassel said during an interview on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast. “I’m like, Micah, that’s the question you got to go a little further up than me on that one. But would I love to see him back there? Absolutely, because he would be fantastic. He would catch it, and he’d run wild. And he’d probably get incredible yards. But that ain’t going to happen. I’m aware of that.”

“Micah has asked…”

Since two returners will be standard with the new kickoff rule could @MicahhParsons11 get a chance from Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel? pic.twitter.com/8OASbjSOuw

— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) April 8, 2024

So Cowboys fans, don’t get your hopes up. But before anyone think the idea far fetched, consider that Parsons is an elite athlete. That athleticism caught the attention of the NFL back in 2021. Parsons skipped the 2020 college football season because of the Covid pandemic. But at his pro day in March, 2021, he reminded scouts of his abilities when he clocked a 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash. Some stopwatches even had him at a 4.36. In fact, he was the fastest defender eligible for the draft that season. Usually, that honor belongs to a cornerback or safety.

The Cowboys haven’t used Parsons much on special teams. He’s been on the field for 15 special teams snaps during his career, with 14 of them coming during his rookie season in 2021. He played one snap last season. Parsons did return kicks at Penn State. That’s where Fassel says he first spotted him, although he was in State College to check out other players.

“I remember watching Micah on kickoff coverage at Penn State as a freshman because I was scouting Nick Scott, a player we had drafted to the Rams,” Fassel said. “Then I was looking at Cam Brown also, but ‘Who’s that guy on kickoff’ when [Parsons] was a freshman.

“Then, you know, you look him up, I don’t know who he is, but he’ll probably be alright someday,” Fassel said. “But Micah has asked about being a primary kickoff returner. That hasn’t been allowed yet, probably not going to be allowed unless you say, ‘Hey, you know in the game we’re down by six and there’s eight seconds left in the game and we got to score a touchdown and kick return to win it?’ Maybe we put Micah back there as a second returner.”

Whether Parsons is back there or not, kickoff returns definitely are going to be different. Last month, the NFL owners made wholesale changes to the kickoff return game. Going forward, the kicker will stand alone at his own 35. Once he kicks the ball, he can’t cross midfield until the returnman catches the ball.

Meanwhile, the remaining 10 players on the kick coverage team will line up at the receiving team’s 40. Each player must have one toe on the 40 before the play can start. The team can either field one or two returnmen.

The fair catch isn’t allowed anymore.

The Cowboys don’t exactly need Parsons to return kicks. They have Kavontae Turpin to do that. Turpin earned Pro Bowl honors as a rookie in 2022. And he averaged 29.2 yards on his 10 kicks last fall.