Micah Parsons on learning another new defense under Matt Eberflus: ‘You’ve got to make adjustments’

For the first three years of his career, Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons knew exactly what to expect coming into the offseason. 

Parsons knew when he was drafted that he would be playing for defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, and Quinn remained in place from 2021 through 2023. When Quinn took the job as the head coach of the Washington Commanders last year, though, the Cowboys changed defensive coordinators and hired Mike Zimmer. And so, things changed just a bit for Parsons.

Now, for the third time in three years, the Cowboys will have a new defensive play-caller as they hired former Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus to replace Zimmer as part of new head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s staff. And so Parsons has to learn yet another new defensive scheme.

“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 at a charity event, via the Cowboys’ official website. “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.”

The Cowboys have adjusted pretty consistently in terms of how they’ve utilized Parsons over the years. He started his career as an off-ball linebacker before the team lost both of its starting edge rushers to major injuries in Week 2 of his rookie season. They then moved him to the edge, and the rest is history. He’s been one of the league’s best pass rushers ever since, and the Cowboys under both Quinn and Zimmer have moved him all over the formation to take advantage of his skills. 

Eberflus would be wise to do the same, even if his system is vastly different from that of either Quinn or Zimmer, who both favor more aggressive styles of defense than does Eberflus.