Micah Parsons fires back at criticism around postgame comments about Mike McCarthy

Dallas Cowboys (3-6) linebacker Micah Parsons pushed back on the criticism he has received for his postgame comments about head coach Mike McCarthy following Sunday’s 34-6 Week 10 home defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2).

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 threw, or even intended to throw, Mike McCarthy under the bus'

Micah Parsons on the criticism around his comments on Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy

(via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/zrlrNxJReY

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 11, 2024

“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 reveals conversation with Micah Parsons after linebacker’s postgame comments

Micah Parsons spoke with the media after the Cowboys’ fourth consecutive defeat, 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.”

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.”