Micah Parsons: Multiple Coaching Changes ‘Part of Being a Pro’

Micah Parsons (11) of the Dallas Cowboys warms up before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., on Dec. 29, 2024. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons will have his third defensive coach this season, and he’s okay with that.

Parsons will go into his fifth season with Matt Eberflus calling plays as the defensive coordinator; he spent his first three seasons with Dan Quinn at the helm, then was under the wing of Mike Zimmer in 2024. Parsons said that coaching changes are part and parcel of being a professional football player. But Parsons also wants the team to help build a championship-caliber defense.

“It’s just learning a new system and getting another coach’s adjustments to how I like to play, what I like to do … and implicate me,” Parsons said in an official interview. “Obviously, it is challenging with a third [defensive coordinator] and [another change] is obviously not the greatest thing in the world. But, I mean, that’s part of being a pro ... you’ve got to make adjustments.”

Parsons was drafted by the Cowboys with the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent the first three seasons of his career under Dan Quinn. He had the best season of his short career in his rookie year, finishing with 84 tackles, including 64 solo, and 20 tackles for loss, with three forced fumbles and three passes defended; he set the team’s rookie sack record with 13, and won Defensive Rookie of the Year.

In 2023, Parsons had a career-high in sacks with 14. His stats fell off somewhat in 2024 though he only played 13 games due to injury.

Still, Parsons has had considerable success no matter who was his coach. He has put up double-digit sacks and tackles for loss in every season as a pro, has made the Pro Bowl in all four seasons, and is a three-time All-Pro.

In Eberflus, Parsons will have a defensive coordinator who understands his position well. Eberflus played linebacker in college and served as linebackers coach at the University of Toledo, then in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Cowboys. Eberflus has also led defenses that were consistently in the top half of the NFL in total defense; his defenses were also aggressive in turning the ball over.

Passing defense has been Eberflus’s weak point but he will have the Cowboys’ star-studded secondary to work with this year: at cornerback, Trevon Diggs is a two-time Pro Bowler and a former All-Pro; DaRon Bland was both a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 2023, when he set the record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a season with 5; and Jourdan Lewis is a steady veteran presence. The Cowboys also have two veteran safeties in Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker.

Parsons does not want the organization to sit on its hands and rely on the talent already in the building. In another part of the interview, Parsons said he wants his team to make some splashes in free agency to add pieces to the defense.

“I don’t wanna sit back and just watch other people build and build and build and [the Cowboys] stay the same, so we definitely need some call to action,” Parsons said. “I want to see us be aggressive, and I wanna see us get players that’s gonna help us—that’s gonna come in and make an impact. And I wanna see us bring back our own players that are just as important, and let’s see what we can do there.”

Parsons pointed to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles as the premier example of how to build a quality roster for cheap.

“You look at Philly and how they went and got Saquon [Barkley] and Zack [Baun],” he said. “Everyone doesn’t need a max deal. There are great quality players that can do one-year or two-year deals, obviously we’ve seen that this year. There’s been a trend.”