Micah Parsons’ weird Mike McCarthy eulogy suggests something’s fishy in Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys finished the campaign 7-10, comfortably out of the Wild Card race and well short of preseason expectations. A lot went wrong this season, from incompetence in the front office (cough, cough, Jerry Jones) to misfortune on the injury front, with Dak Prescott limited to eight starts.

It's impossible to pin the blame on a single figure, and head coach Mike McCarthy really doesn't rank close to the top when it comes to reasons this team fell flat. That said, at a certain point, the head coach must fall on the sword. Fan apathy toward McCarthy has been growing for some time now. Folks in Dallas just don't believe in him as a Super Bowl-caliber coach. A losing season could be what it takes to force him out the door.

Jerry Jones — whose opinion is all that really matters in Cowboys land, at the end of the day — continues to praise McCarthy at every turn. He has stuck with the longtime head coach through thick and thin. Through countless postseason flameouts and unforeseen hiccups. That said, even Jones can feel the pressure mounting. Something has to change eventually... right?

With the Chicago Bears (and presumably other teams) eager to interview McCarthy, whose contract expired at season's end, it feels like the perfect time for Dallas to move in a new direction. Micah Parsons, for one, appears more than ready to embrace change.

Micah Parsons effectively says goodbye to Mike McCarthy

"I’m in the wind just like you guys," Parsons told reporters when asked about McCarthy's future with the team. "I thought he did very well. I feel like obviously for what he’s had, he’s definitely made an impact. It’s definitely challenging because any time you lose your starting quarterback, a Pro Bowler, All-Pro player, it’s the most challenging part. But for what he’s done … I appreciate Mike for everything he’s done for me and the program."

That last line feels especially notable. This could all blow over and read as simple praise if Jones extends McCarthy's contract, but "I appreciate Mike for everything he's done for me" reads an awful lot like a sendoff. The sort of thing a player says when something didn't quite work out, but at least there were positive moments along the way.

This is not to say Parsons is rooting for McCarthy's exit, of course, but Parsons is Dallas' most public-facing athlete. He has a popular podcast. His football takes are out in the world every week, almost daily. He knows how to plant seeds and talk in code. He knows the media landscape. And, we know he has not been satisfied with the arc of this season. Parsons is coming up on a new contract. Surely he wants to get paid, but more than that, he wants to make sure he's signing a long-term contract with a winning organization.

"If this is our last ride," Parsons said, "[McCarthy has] always been a great man, a great father, a great testament of faith since he’s been here. I appreciate him."

That sounds like the death knell for McCarthy's Cowboys tenure. It just does. Only time will tell if Jones and the front office actually muster the courage necessary to evolve and adapt, but the table is set. Parsons is certainly not advocating for Dallas to keep McCarthy, so that's one Pro Bowler who is, at the very least, ambivalent on the issue.

It is time to pull the trigger, Jerry.