Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons created headlines last week with comments that appeared to disparage coach Mike McCarthy. On Thursday, the star pass rusher apologized for how he phrased those words.
Following the Cowboys' Week 10 loss to Philadelphia, in an attempt to prop up teammates like Zack Martin, Parsons said he didn't feel bad for McCarthy's situation because the coach can continue if he no longer works in Dallas.
"When I'm talking about 'here,' I'm thinking the Dallas Cowboys," Parsons clarified this week, per ESPN. "I was in middle school, elementary school when Mike McCarthy was with the Packers, and I have no reference to that. So, when I'm talking about here Dallas Cowboys and what was accomplished the most, I'm thinking about the guys, and I've only ever been here. So obviously no disrespect to (McCarthy's) career and what he's made for himself as one of the most winningest coaches.
"I could have done better. I was angry and I just didn't finish, and I wasn't as thoughtful as I usually am. I didn't think people would take that context the way it was. That's on me. I lost [the game], I didn't want to finish, and I wanted to hurry up out of the locker room. Next time I will be very careful about what I say. So that's my apologies."
Parsons noted that he and McCarthy hashed things out the following day after his initial comments, and he had the utmost respect for his head coach.
"The most important thing is obviously how much love I have for coach McCarthy," Parsons said. "You never want to throw shade or anything on your coach. But I think like anything, him understanding I'm always going to be a players' guy first, right. I'm always going to think about the guys around me before anyone. That's who I go to war with. Those are the guys that are leaning on me and I'm leaning on them. That's how we feed our families. That's kind of what I wanted to get across. We hashed it out, it was all good and gravy."
The Cowboys are on a five-game skid, their longest losing streak within a season since a seven-gamer in 2015. Dallas has scored 14.0 points per game over the streak while allowing 34.4 points per game, the worst in the NFL since Week 6.
In Week 12, the struggling defense meets former coordinator Dan Quinn, who has the Washington Commanders at 7-4 and in the playoff hunt. Parsons said he texts with his former DC every couple of weeks.
"More frequently recently. Maybe he's trying to get in my head a little bit," Parsons quipped. "But, nah, he actually helped me get tickets to the game too for my family. That goes to show you what type of coach DQ is and type of players' coach he is regardless of where you're at, whether you're playing for him and things like that. He's always about his guys. And that's my guy. So, it's going to be fun playing against him. I know he's going to have them rallied up. He's probably going to say, 'It's Shark Week. It's fight night. We got to go to Round 12. We got to knock them out. Rivalry game.' I know his whole spiel."
Parsons dominated under Quinn's watch as a movable chess piece who could win from any formation. Given the intimate knowledge, it will be interesting to see how Quinn's Commanders elect to handle the dominant edge rusher on Sunday.