Micah Parsons Makes Cowboys Announcement for Monday

FRISCO - It went from "prank'' to "pep talk'' to "promise.''

Micah Parsons make weekend phone calls to a handful of Dallas Cowboys pals, following up on the viral trend of contacting friends to wish them an out-of-the-blue "goodnight.''

Micah called teammates Tyler Smith, Trevon Diggs, Osa Odighizuwa and KaVontae Turpin. ... and then he called his new coach, Brian Schottenheimer.

And that's when things took a serious and important turn.

"Look, I know this is weird for everybody man, but look, you're handling everything the right way, bro," Schotty said to Parsons, of course referring to Micah's contract negotiations. "This thing's going to get worked out, and again I'm thrilled to see where we take this thing, man. 

"We're building something special and you're going to be a huge part of it, bro."

"Hell yeah!" Parsons responded.

Parsons, who recorded himself making the phone calls to post on his TikTok, is of course entangled in negotiations with the Cowboys toward a contract extension that eventually figures to pay him $40 million or so annually, making him one of the richest non-QBs in NFL history.

Also part of the conversation, as the team begins mandatory minicamp this week? That aforementioned "promise.''

"You know, I feel like player to coach, just checking in on you. Wanted to say goodnight, whole fam as well. See you Monday, you know, excited about next week," Micah said to his first-year head coach.

"See you Monday.''

Parsons has been "in and out'' (Schottenheimer's words) for the team's voluntary OTAs, and has all along vowed to not use an offseason holdout as leverage in his contract talks with team owners Jerry and Stephen Jones.

Things can change; this is a short session this week (team dinner on Monday and three days of work) and then comes six weeks off before training camp in Oxnard. ... so leverage can still be in play down the line.

But Micah has stated how important it is to him to be with the team and with this coach.

And Schotty's support and endorsement of his All-Pro defensive cornerstone reinforces that same importance.

During his short time on the job, Schottenheimer has preached the building of relationships while he focuses on remaining "authentic.'' This listen-behind-the-curtain establishes that ...

And accomplishes so much more.

"I appreciate the call, man, for real, and I look forward to seeing you Monday,'' the coach told the player. "And it's going to be a great week."