Marcus Spears puts Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on blast amid Micah Parsons controversy

On the heels of their fourth consecutive defeat, 34-6 at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2), Marcus Spears called out Dallas Cowboys (3-6) owner Jerry Jones for creating a culture where players “feel more about being in the graces” of the 82-year-old.

Spears made his point on “Monday Night Countdown” while discussing linebacker Micah Parsons‘ postgame comments about head coach Mike McCarthy.

Marcus Spears sounds off on Jerry Jones, Cowboys culture

.@mspears96 discussed the Cowboys' culture amidst Micah Parsons' comments on the team 📝

"The elephant in the room is Jerry Jones. … Micah Parsons feels more responsible to be in the graces of Jerry Jones than he does Mike McCarthy." pic.twitter.com/X9KYzL8AlL

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 12, 2024

“When people talk about — we use this sentiment the elephant in the room. And when you go to the zoo and you go by the elephants, it smells like doo-doo. It stinks,” Spears said. “That’s what’s happening to this organization. But the elephant in the room has nothing to do with Mike McCarthy or Micah Parsons or Dak Prescott. The elephant in the room is Jerry Jones. And it’s because there’s always and I’ve said this for so long, there’s always another tier of accountability beyond the head coach in Dallas. We all understand there’s ownership, there’s a general manager, there’s a head coach. We understand there are tiers of powers.

“But one thing I’ve been trying to get people to understand in Dallas, I have zero vendetta against Jerry Jones outside of the way he acquires talent and how aggressive he is. My opposing to how this thing is ran is there’s always another element that a player can go to beyond his head coach. That’s the problem with the culture. Micah Parsons feels more responsible to be in the graces of Jerry Jones than he does Mike McCarthy.

“The players feel more about being in the graces of Jerry Jones because he’s so involved and so hands on. It’s not intentional from Jerry Jones. It’s a thing that’s created in this culture to where if I go above the head coach because I am a star of this team, some things I say don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”

Micah Parsons comments on Mike McCarthy’s future as Cowboys head coach

Parsons spoke with the media after the latest loss, and fielded a question about McCarthy’s future with the franchise as the 61-year-old is in the final year of his contract. Parsons initially said that was “above my pay grade” before saying that “Mike can leave and go wherever he wants.”

“Mike can leave and go wherever he wants,” Parsons told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports. “But guys I kind of feel bad for are 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 things with those types of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did. So those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for.”

Parsons, speaking on his “The Edge” podcast, said he “never intended to throw Mike McCarthy under bus,” taking aim at Damien Woody and Rex Ryan of ESPN for putting out “nonsense” on “Get Up” Monday morning.

“I never once or even intended to throw Mike McCarthy under the bus,” Parsons said. “He’s one of the most winningest coaches [and] is a Super Bowl champion. I never once brought up his past. And the question that was asked was about here in the Dallas Cowboys, did I see Mike McCarthy in our future. And I said, ‘That’s above my pay grade.’ So, not once did I ever intended or wanted to reflect on Mike McCarthy’s career. Because I always knew it was a good one. I’ve always had a great relationship with Mike McCarthy, and I never even put that into question.

“For a guy like Rex Ryan, I just know he wanted to coach the Cowboys. Like, I’m perfectly happy that we have [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 honestly just outrageous to me. … It truly bothers me how much negativity that we choose to put out there. Because 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.”

Mike McCarthy, Micah Parsons clear the air following fourth straight loss

McCarthy said Monday he had a conversation with Parsons about the comments where they handled it “as men should handle it.”

“We have so much more that we need to focus on. And that’s really what we talked about throughout the day today,” McCarthy said. “We’ve got to keep it about football. Bear down on the things we know we need to improve on. Build off of some of the things we didn’t. … These are some of the things you’ve got to eliminate from your culture, and conversation brings resolution.

“I think this is an example of that.”