FRISCO, Texas — Falling to 3-6 on the season, and 0-4 at home, with the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Dallas Cowboys find themselves fighting something other than the traditional rightful criticism from the 34-6 final score at AT&T Stadium — instead entangled in fallout from comments made by Micah Parsons.
When asked about the future of head coach Mike McCarthy, Parsons deferred.
"That's above my pay grade, if Mike coaches again next year," said the All-Pro.
He'd then redirect the emotion to the level of disappointment he feels for players like Zack Martin, a future Hall of Fame right guard who may or may not call it a career once this season concludes and, as such, could end up leaving the game without ever making it to the Super Bowl.
"All coaching aside, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants," said Parsons. "Guys I kind of feel bad for [are] guys like Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or 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.
"Those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for."
The comments went viral almost immediately after they left Parsons' mouth, although the context and tone were clearly not to demean or dismiss McCarthy, but rather to speak on the player-to-player connection within the locker room.
Nonetheless, McCarthy and Parsons sat down to clear the air on Monday.
"Micah and I had a conversation this morning about it, and we handled those things as men should handle it," said the Cowboys' head coach. "That wasn't his intent [to offend], but that's something he can talk on [later]."
And with that air cleared, McCarthy wants the Cowboys to circle their focus and wagons around what matters most, and above all: trying to avoid a five-game losing streak and a 3-7 record.
"We have so much more that we need to focus on and that's really what we talked about throughout the day today," he 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."
Up next on the agenda is a bout with the Houston Texans in the Battle for Texas (also known as The Governor's Cup), another high-caliber opponent marching onto the field in Arlington, where the Cowboys have yet to win a game this season.
