Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence made headlines with his comments about why he left America’s Team to sign with the Seattle Seahawks.
Essentially, he said he had to leave Dallas if he wanted to win a Super Bowl — a statement that naturally made waves. Notably, former teammate and current Cowboys star Micah Parsons took offense.
Now, a Cowboys legend who won three Super Bowls with Dallas, including their last in 1996, has taken Parsons’ side and blamed Lawrence for the franchise’s championship drought.
Cowboys Legend Blames DeMarcus Lawrence for Super Bowl Drought
This whole situation started on March 13, when DeMarcus Lawrence spoke to the Seattle media about leaving Dallas. When asked why he made the move, his reason was blunt: “I know for sure I’m not gonna win a Super Bowl there.”
He also said that Dallas was his home, but the second part of his statement is what grabbed attention. The full feud between Lawrence and Parsons, shows Parsons wasn’t exactly thrilled with Lawrence’s comments.
Parsons, via social media, fired back: “This what rejection and envy look like! This some clown s***.”
In response, Lawrence said, “Calling me a clown won’t change the fact that I told the truth. Maybe if you spent less time tweeting and more time winning, I wouldn’t have left.”
While the back-and-forth between Lawrence and Parsons seemed to die down, Cowboys legend Michael Irvin weighed in, saying Parsons did nothing wrong and that Lawrence is to blame for Dallas’ Super Bowl drought.
“I’m gonna absolutely go with Micah Parsons here,” Irvin said on FS1’s Speak on Monday. “First of all, D Lawrence — and I love D Law — good man, played great for Dallas for a long time. But you have to self-indict since you were there. You can’t just say, ‘I ain’t gon’ win a Super Bowl in Dallas,’ as if you were not on the football field. You were the reason why [they] didn’t win. You are directly part of the reason you didn’t win a Super Bowl in Dallas.”
.@michaelirvin88 sides with Micah Parsons in his beef with DeMarcus Lawrence
“You are directly part of the reason why we didn’t win a Super Bowl in Dallas… That Oprah Winfrey defense… that he was a part of.” pic.twitter.com/Vv1dvWzDMD
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) March 17, 2025
Irvin, a wide receiver who spent his entire 12-year NFL career in Dallas, argued that the Cowboys had a strong offense during Lawrence’s tenure, while the defense — the unit Lawrence was supposed to lead — was what he called “Oprah Winfrey defense.”
“Dallas had the No. 1 offense a few of those years,” he continued before delivering his signature metaphor. “The problem was that defense. That, what I call, ‘Oprah Winfrey defense.’ ‘You rush for 200 [yards]! You rush for 200! You! You! You! You! Everybody rush for 200!’ That he was part of … So yeah, I blame D Law. I put the onus on him.”
Lawrence spent one year less in Dallas than Irvin did, and while he recorded a solid 61.5 sacks over 11 seasons, the Cowboys never advanced beyond the Divisional Round during his tenure.