Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons pushed back against the perception he was taking a shot at coach Mike McCarthy in his postgame comments Sunday.

“I never once threw, or even intended to throw, Mike McCarthy under the bus,” Parsons said on his The Edge with Micah Parsons podcast. “The question that was asked about here and the Dallas Cowboys. Did I see Mike McCarthy in our future? I said, ‘That’s above my pay grade.”

Parsons wasn’t pleased that critics turned his comments into something he didn’t mean.

He was asked about McCarthy’s future after a fourth consecutive loss and said the future of the coaches isn’t his top concern.

“That’s above my pay grade, about if Mike’s coaching again next year,” Parsons said after the Cowboys’ 34-6 loss to the Eagles. “All coaching aside, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants. Guys I kind of feel bad for is guys like [right guard] Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year, on their way out, because that’s who I wanted to hold the trophy for.

“You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did. So those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for.”

McCarthy said Monday that he and Parsons discussed Parsons’ postgame comments, and Parsons has apologized.

McCarthy is in the final year of his contract, as is the rest of the coaching staff, and the Cowboys are expected to move on after this season.