FRISCO, Texas — When the Dallas Cowboys are involved in one of the most memorable NFL trades of the last 20-plus years, most assume Jerry Jones made the decision with very little input from the rest of the organization.
But first-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said several times Friday afternoon that trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers on Thursday was a “unanimous decision.”
“We just went through the whole process,” he said. “At the end of the day, it was unanimous. It wasn’t something where it was like an overnight thing. We had talked about it. At the end of the day, I think when you look at a football team, when you can potentially add up to four or five players and things like that, it gives you the ability to do some things.
“We’re about trying to upgrade the roster any chance we get.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer doesn’t see the Micah Parsons trade being a moment of adversity for the team. “This was a unanimous decision. This was unanimous from top to bottom. … Guys will step up. … I think there’s a chance for us to grow as a football team.” pic.twitter.com/Mxw2zTSMaK
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 29, 2025
The Cowboys sent one of the NFL’s top defenders to the Packers in exchange for veteran Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks.
Schottenheimer said after he received a call from Jones on Thursday about the trade’s finalization, he immediately reached out to 12 to 14 players on the roster. That group included franchise quarterback Dak Prescott and cornerback Trevon Diggs, Parsons’ closest friend on the team. He declined to share specifics about those conversations.
“Nothing has changed,” Schottenheimer said. “My goals haven’t changed. Our team goals haven’t changed. … The standard is the standard, I said that (to the team). With all the new pieces and people we had in (the team room), I needed to hit the goal, which is to win a world championship. I needed to hit that we also want to build one of the greatest professional sports cultures in the world.”
Schottenheimer said culture did not play a role in trading Parsons.
“We’re strong on leadership,” he added. “I really do believe that. We’re strong on leadership in this locker room. Adding a guy like Kenny Clark … helps that tremendously.”
Schottenheimer said he saw Parsons on Thursday before the trade, adding that he will remain “part of the family. … When you leave, that doesn’t change.”
“Micah is an incredible player,” he said. “But this is the ultimate team game. We’re not gonna win a championship with one player.”
That is true, one player will not win the Cowboys a Super Bowl. They didn’t win one in four seasons with Parsons. But they did win 12 games three years in a row during that stretch. And the argument can be made that Parsons had the biggest impact on Dallas’ accomplishment of three consecutive double-digit win seasons for the first time since 1996.
The Cowboys have some interesting edge-rushing options in Dante Fowler, Sam Williams, Marshawn Kneeland, Donovan Ezeiruaku and James Houston, but no player will come close to replacing Parsons’ production. None of them will draw the double-teams Parsons did, opening things up for others to make plays. It’s going to have to be a committee approach.
With Parsons, the Cowboys were projected to win about eight games, not exactly a playoff team. Without him, the expectations have to be worse. Not an ideal situation for a first-year head coach, especially in a league in which several coaches have been fired after only one season.
Jones seems committed to making the Schottenheimer decision work. He gave Jason Garrett nine full seasons and has talked about having regrets about giving Chan Gailey only two.
But Schottenheimer is faced with his biggest challenge since getting the job in January, and it comes less than a week before the season opener against the defending Super Bowl champions.
“I think we’re all on one-year contracts in this business,” Schottenheimer said. “At the end of the day, we’re gonna be judged on wins and losses. … If you’re good at what you do and you know how to capture your players and get them pulling in the same direction, which I think we’re gonna do a great job of, we expect to have great success this year.”
(Photo: Jon Machota / The Athletic)