Cowboys’ Micah Parsons reacts to ‘devastating’ news of Mike McCarthy’s departure

The dust is beginning to settle after Monday’s news of the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy splitting ways after a five-year tenure that saw McCarthy lead the team to three 12-5 seasons and three playoff appearances.

On Tuesday, defensive end Micah Parsons reacted to the news of McCarthy being out and what could be ahead for a franchise that now has a lot of questions to answer this offseason.

“It’s obviously very sad because of the relationships we had with Coach McCarthy and what he’s done for our program,” Parsons said on his podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons on Bleacher Report. “Three straight 12-5 seasons, playoff appearances and obviously the unfortunate year due to injuries and things like that [in 2024].”

“It is devastating. He’s always been good to us as a unit, coaches, players. Losing a great coach like Mike hurts.”

Parsons was vocal about wanting McCarthy and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer back in the fold during the final weeks of the season. Despite a meeting with owner Jerry Jones on Friday at the Cotton Bowl that lasted well after the game had finished, his public desire of keeping the two Mike’s will not be fulfilled.

“It’s going to be a very interesting offseason due to free agents, the coaching,” he said. “It’s going to be a complete reset. It’s going to be an interesting and challenging offseason. But listen, I trust our owner, I trust our GM and I trust Will McClay that we’re going to make the right decisions.”

Parsons will be one of the many layers of the offseason that will make it an interesting one, as he is due for a contract extension that is expected to make him one of the highest-paid defensive players in league history. Even though last offseason didn’t see him around the building until his presence was mandatory in June for team minicamp, he has said that he plans to be around more in 2025.

Furthermore, he hopes that he will be leaned on as the front office makes key decisions about his coaching staff and teammates moving forward.

“Hopefully, I’m brought up into those conversations about who I would like to play with, bring around,” Parsons said. “I hope I get that level of treatment.”

In 2024, Parsons became the second player in league history to notch 12 or more sacks in each of his first four seasons, joining Hall of Famer Reggie White. He is heading into the final year of his rookie contract and could command an extension agreement with the team north of $35 million per year.