Dallas Cowboys: Ranking the Coaches of ‘America’s Team’
8. Dave Campo
2000-02
Wins: 15, Losses: 33 (48 games)
These were some very dark times for the Cowboys, as they won no more than five games in any of the three seasons with Campo at the helm. As an assistant coach with the Cowboys, he was serviceable, but in charge of the team with really no quarterback and an aging roster, Campo had no real chance for success.
Campo has the title of being the only head coach of the Cowboys to never have his team reach the playoffs, and is one of three to not have at least one playoff win in Big D.
In Campo’s rookie season as head coach, the Cowboys were 5-11, fourth in the NFC East and had just one Pro Bowler, that being offense guard and future Hall of Famer Larry Allen.
The 2001 saw the Cowboys finish 5-11 yet again, fifth in the NFC East. It took until Week 5 before they had their first win, a 9-7 victory over the Washington Redskins. That season, the Cowboys had two four-game losing streaks.
In 2002, the Cowboys were 5-11 for a third consecutive year, but maybe the best part of another fourth-place season was drafting Roy Williams with the eighth overall selection.
With his .313 winning percentage (no other Cowboys head coach had a winning percentage under .531), Campo’s teams weren’t all his fault, but he didn’t do a whole lot to help matters, either.
Campo was thrown into a job he just wasn’t ready for, and in retrospect, maybe he should have just stayed a defensive coordinator or a position coach, because that’s where he was best utilized within the Cowboys organization.
Next: No. 7: He had success, but not enough