This won't be pretty

[CouchCoach]

That was the first insight into how Booger thinks. Campo was promoted because he would not be expensive and the team "liked" him. Remember that? That was important to Booger and after he'd said adios to a HC that a lot of players feared and respected, he brought in a "players' coach" with Switzer. There there now, all better? Ole mean taskmaster Jimmy is gone. Can't we all be friends?

He got rid of Gailey prematurely and admitted that but then exacerbates that with the wrong hire and the wheels were set in motion. What Booger did not understand was that he needed a specific kind of HC, a rebuild HC. He liked to use the term "reload" but that wasn't the case at all, it was a rebuild and the fans would have been OK with that because they'd endured the first one under Booger's ownership. There had been a very bright light at the end of that tunnel.

Then he makes a brilliant decision, although the motive was unclear at the time, to bring in Parcells and shocks the NFL world by actually getting along with him. He went from giving the players a HC that they liked so much they buried him and a 15-33 record to one known to get inside players' heads and mess with them. Regardless of the motive, it was a great move, just didn't work out but he had learned from his Gailey mistake and actually gave Parcells an extension and an extra mil to stay for a 5th season.

While that 2000 season was a disaster, there were some hard lessons learned by Booger. The difference with Booger and these other owners that don't run their own show is that we've watched all of the mistakes he's made, we've witnessed every wrong call in his effort to get back to the SB because he didn't understand how he got there in the first place.

What is unfair is to not give the man credit for learning from his mistakes. The team gets better at drafting so it must be someone else, couldn't be that he learned the voices he was listening to were just telling him what he wanted to hear and not what he needed to hear. He hasn't changed, he is still a watch the ball GM, seduced by star power and all about the entertainment factor but in today's NFL, is he wrong to think that way?

This thread serves a very good purpose by highlighting how bad it was and how far he's come since then. Is he great? Don't think so but he is much better. He might even make a good GM someday.

 

[SoupcanSam]

He was a nice guy and had a real down to earth approach to him, and let's face it, the front office did him no favors whatsoever with an aging and capped-out team, along with Larry Lacewell just destroying the draft. I pity poor Dave Campo. He was never qualified for the job, but he was dealt an awful hand as well.

Things were so bad back then cap wise, I never thought i would ever see a cap situation the cowboys are in today.

Jerry constantly restructuring contracts along with aikman accounting for 15% of the cap in 2001 after he was released didnt help matters.

It's been a process!

 

[Pantone282C]

Some advance warning that what you are about to read will not be pleasant. Stop now if you don't want to see what just might be the absolute worst year in Dallas Cowboys history. This isn't some Cowboys bashfest or an attempt to bring everyone down. It's simply a history lesson. A trip down memory lane and some valuable lessons in what not to do.

So again, if you're going to be offended by the topic, do me, yourself, and everyone else a favor and don't read any further because it's not pretty and you won't like what you see.

This is a story about the 2000 Vowboys and how they may be the worst team in franchise history. Not in terms of record, we've seen worse there. But in terms of sheer incompetence, poor decision-making, and outright mistakes.

In my opinion, nothing can top the year 2000 for being the absolute pits in terms of poor choices, and watching this team being screwed up for decades. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and every choice and decision was proven to be the wrong one. Not just a little wrong either, but Hall of Fame worthy wrong.

First, Jerry Jones made the decision to fire Chan Gailey. This after the man had an above .500 record and made the playoffs both years he was here.

To replace him? Jones made the worst choice he possibly could make - Dave frickin' Campo. The "last man standing" from the glory days. While names like Bill Belicheck were signing on to coach the Patriots - and how did that turn out? - Jerry Jones made the decision to go with Dave Campo.

To follow that up, the decision was made to trade away not one, but two 1st round draft picks for Joey Galloway. This move was made in an attempt to replace Michael Irvin who's career was abruptly ended. One bad thing happening after another. And on top of that, Galloway needed a new big, fat contract. Bad enough, right? No, it gets worse. Much, much worse.

During a week one blowout loss, in-over-his-head-coach Dave Campo has Galloway stay in the game. After starting QB Troy Aikman's had suffered a severe concussion and the day was lost. Only for Galloway himself to tear his ACL and be lost for the season. Thanks coach!

Then we come to the NFL Draft that year. In trying to replace cornerback Deion Sanders who had bolted to the rival Commanders (thanks Deion! You ******* mercenary!), the Cowboys decided to just throw whatever remaining draft picks they had left at cornerbacks. Of the 5 total picks they had left, they used 3 of them on cornerbacks.

2 pick 49 Dwayne Goodrich DB Tennessee

4 pick 109 Kareem Larrimore DB West Texas A&M

5 pick 144 Michael Wiley RB Ohio State

6 pick 180 Mario Edwards DB Florida State

7 pick 219 Orantes Grant LB Does anyone really care?

The claim to fame of this group would be Dwayne Goodrich, and the fact that he never did anything on the field, but got drunk and killed people while reckless driving off the field. That's it. It was a complete washout.

By the way, the 2000 draft was where QB Tom Brady came from. And it also happened to coincide with the final season of Troy Aikman's career. You couldn't have written up this tragedy any better if you tried.

I'm sure everyone knows the rest, Campo showed he never deserved the job in the first place, the team suffered through not one, not two, but three 5-11 seasons in finding that out, and the organization spiraled into a funk that showed no end in sight until Bill Parcells rode in to the rescue and helped to reestablish a lost level of respectability.

There have been mistakes made before and since, and some down seasons, but I can't help but to look back at the year 2000 as the very worst, and most destructive in the history of the franchise.

And if you've actually kept reading to this point, good for you o glutton for punishment! I'm wondering if you can think of a worse time of decision-making and ineptitude?

That probably about covers it.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

Ah the Campo years, I don't think this organization ever fully recovered from those years.

 

[Big_D]

Ah the Campo years, I don't think this organization ever fully recovered from those years.

It's the Jerry years. There really is no recovery!

 

[Stash]

Yep. If I remember right, the temp that day was something like 107. Texas Stadium was a miserable place in those August and early September games after the boxes were added that blocked airflow. Fortunately, my seats were in the shade - I can't imagine what it was like sitting in the sun.

It was rumored that the on field temps were over 120 degrees.

 

[John813]

Ah, the Galloway trade.

In 2000 the Seahawks used our first to take Shaun Alexander
In 2001 the Seahawks took Koren Robinson in a trade down from our pick(7th overall) and took Steve Hutchinson at 16th in another trade.

All three made the probowl & All-pro at least once. Alexander and Hutchinson being selected for the PB/AP multiple times.

 

[Stash]

Things were so bad back then cap wise, I never thought i would ever see a cap situation the cowboys are in today.

Jerry constantly restructuring contracts along with aikman accounting for 15% of the cap in 2001 after he was released didnt help matters.

It's been a process!

A looooonnnnnnngggggg one!

 

[Vtwin]

Things were so bad back then cap wise, I never thought i would ever see a cap situation the cowboys are in today.

Jerry constantly restructuring contracts along with aikman accounting for 15% of the cap in 2001 after he was released didnt help matters.

It's been a process!

It seems they may be overcompensating for those mistakes by refusing to bring in the top tier free agent that could make the difference.

 

[SoupcanSam]

It seems they may be overcompensating for those mistakes by refusing to bring in the top tier free agent that could make the difference.

I think the cowboys are doing just fine staying away from that sort of mindset. Because of that, they have built successfully through the draft and have gotten young.

Age was also a big negative back in those days. I think at one point their whole roster averaged close to 30 or over.

Young, great salary cap situation, and winning seasons.....it gets no better than that after failing so miserably in the past.

 

[Pantone282C]

Some advance warning that what you are about to read will not be pleasant. Stop now if you don't want to see what just might be the absolute worst year in Dallas Cowboys history. This isn't some Cowboys bashfest or an attempt to bring everyone down. It's simply a history lesson. A trip down memory lane and some valuable lessons in what not to do.

So again, if you're going to be offended by the topic, do me, yourself, and everyone else a favor and don't read any further because it's not pretty and you won't like what you see.

This is a story about the 2000 Vowboys and how they may be the worst team in franchise history. Not in terms of record, we've seen worse there. But in terms of sheer incompetence, poor decision-making, and outright mistakes.

In my opinion, nothing can top the year 2000 for being the absolute pits in terms of poor choices, and watching this team being screwed up for decades. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, and every choice and decision was proven to be the wrong one. Not just a little wrong either, but Hall of Fame worthy wrong.

First, Jerry Jones made the decision to fire Chan Gailey. This after the man had an above .500 record and made the playoffs both years he was here.

To replace him? Jones made the worst choice he possibly could make - Dave frickin' Campo. The "last man standing" from the glory days. While names like Bill Belicheck were signing on to coach the Patriots - and how did that turn out? - Jerry Jones made the decision to go with Dave Campo.

To follow that up, the decision was made to trade away not one, but two 1st round draft picks for Joey Galloway. This move was made in an attempt to replace Michael Irvin who's career was abruptly ended. One bad thing happening after another. And on top of that, Galloway needed a new big, fat contract. Bad enough, right? No, it gets worse. Much, much worse.

During a week one blowout loss, in-over-his-head-coach Dave Campo has Galloway stay in the game. After starting QB Troy Aikman's had suffered a severe concussion and the day was lost. Only for Galloway himself to tear his ACL and be lost for the season. Thanks coach!

Then we come to the NFL Draft that year. In trying to replace cornerback Deion Sanders who had bolted to the rival Commanders (thanks Deion! You ******* mercenary!), the Cowboys decided to just throw whatever remaining draft picks they had left at cornerbacks. Of the 5 total picks they had left, they used 3 of them on cornerbacks.

2 pick 49 Dwayne Goodrich DB Tennessee

4 pick 109 Kareem Larrimore DB West Texas A&M

5 pick 144 Michael Wiley RB Ohio State

6 pick 180 Mario Edwards DB Florida State

7 pick 219 Orantes Grant LB Does anyone really care?

The claim to fame of this group would be Dwayne Goodrich, and the fact that he never did anything on the field, but got drunk and killed people while reckless driving off the field. That's it. It was a complete washout.

By the way, the 2000 draft was where QB Tom Brady came from. And it also happened to coincide with the final season of Troy Aikman's career. You couldn't have written up this tragedy any better if you tried.

I'm sure everyone knows the rest, Campo showed he never deserved the job in the first place, the team suffered through not one, not two, but three 5-11 seasons in finding that out, and the organization spiraled into a funk that showed no end in sight until Bill Parcells rode in to the rescue and helped to reestablish a lost level of respectability.

There have been mistakes made before and since, and some down seasons, but I can't help but to look back at the year 2000 as the very worst, and most destructive in the history of the franchise.

And if you've actually kept reading to this point, good for you o glutton for punishment! I'm wondering if you can think of a worse time of decision-making and ineptitude?

Like Doc Holiday said, "I have not yet begun to defile myself."

 

[Pantone282C]

It was rumored that the on field temps were over 120 degrees.

I worked at Six Flags one summer in HS. Man, the temp at the Esso car track was about that - insufferable.

 

[DallasCowboysRule!]

2000-2002 was a dark time. Props to all of us that survived it

 

[Pantone282C]

Ah the Campo years, I don't think this organization ever fully recovered from those years.

"We must redefine the nature of our association."
... I just can't stop...I watched Tombstone last night.

 

[Stash]

"We must redefine the nature of our association."
... I just can't stop...I watched Tombstone last night.

An excellent decision.

Stephen Lang was another actor who owned in that movie as Ike Clanton.

 

[Vtwin]

I think the cowboys are doing just fine staying away from that sort of mindset. Because of that, they have built successfully through the draft and have gotten young.

Age was also a big negative back in those days. I think at one point their whole roster averaged close to 30 or over.

Young, great salary cap situation, and winning seasons.....it gets no better than that after failing so miserably in the past.

Agreed. I certainly don't advocate trying to fill multiple holes with expensive free agents but when you have a solid, young and cheap team which is knocking on the door of real success it makes sense to me to intelligently upgrade your weakest spot with a top tier, experienced player.

The Cowboy's have always been a reactionary team since JJ took over. The refusal to look at top tier FAs seems like an overreaction to those days to me. You've got to be willing to consider all options as they relate to current circumstances, imo.

 

[Stash]

Agreed. I certainly don't advocate trying to fill multiple holes with expensive free agents but when you have a solid, young and cheap team which is knocking on the door of real success it makes sense to me to intelligently upgrade your weakest spot with a top tier, experienced player.

The Cowboy's have always been a reactionary team since JJ took over. The refusal to look at top tier FAs seems like an overreaction to those days to me. You've got to be willing to consider all options as they relate to current circumstances, imo.

Absolutely right, even great drafting - which overall we have had lately - will only take you so far. Free agency is a needed piece to augment those drafted players, in addition of course, to having good coaching which is still suspect.

But it this is the do or die year for this current coaching staff, go for it. Take your shot. Sign a few free agents in an effort to put you over the top. I'm not saying to go nuts or be reckless, but adding two or three guys on modest deals in positions of obvious need - S, DT, TE - wouldn't be a bad thing. Not huge, long term deals, but ones that you're out of in a year or two if they don't work out. Those are manageable.

 

[SoupcanSam]

Agreed. I certainly don't advocate trying to fill multiple holes with expensive free agents but when you have a solid, young and cheap team which is knocking on the door of real success it makes sense to me to intelligently upgrade your weakest spot with a top tier, experienced player.

The Cowboy's have always been a reactionary team since JJ took over. The refusal to look at top tier FAs seems like an overreaction to those days to me. You've got to be willing to consider all options as they relate to current circumstances, imo.

Well they brought in Coop and that was more than enough FA for that season. They dont need to go crazy.

In your opinion what other position other than WR would you have acquired a FA for?

Imo it would have been at WR(which it did), and safety. But I was even willing to wait this next season for safety instead of getting everything all in one season.

Take it one season at a time.

And even at that I think we should take safety in the draft. I am just not a big fan of FA. When you suffer through alot of terrible years like alot of cowboys fans did along with cap hell, you look at things a little different.

 

[CF74]

Uh! I guess I can use this thread as an excuse to start drinking early. Salud!!

Are u buzzed yet? I can’t start till after 5 lol

 

[JayFord]

00-02 were absolutely dreadful to watch

Not only that it was painful watching us play the eagles and they would curb stomp us I mean those games weren’t even close

I think those games were like 37-3, 41-10 something like that

But the absolute worst was being up against the giants 24-0 right before half only to lose