Ranking the top 7 head coaches in Dallas Cowboys history

CCBoy

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https://thelandryhat.com/posts/ranking-top-7-head-coaches-dallas-cowboys-history-01h83a19kyb2

7. Jason Garrett (2010-2019)​

Jason Garrett took charge of the Cowboys in 2010 and took them to three NFC East championships. Garrett's fundamental weakness was he was learning how to be a head coach on the job and the Cowboys only made the playoffs three times during his tenure. He received the AP Coach of the Year title in 2016. Despite finishing the regular season with an 85-67 record, Garrett only had a 2-3 record during the playoffs.

6. Wade Phillips (2007-2010)​

Jason Garrett's predecessor showed great prowess as a defensive coordinator but could not lead a team as a head coach. The Cowboys appointed Phillips as head coach on Feb. 8, 2007, following the retirement of Bill Parcells. This was where Phillips had the most successful head coaching tenure. Jerry Jones chose him among 10 potential replacements he interviewed, including Norv Turner, Ron Rivera, and Jason Garrett. The Cowboys suffered another playoff loss in the 2007 NFL playoffs, bringing his playoff record to 0-4. Dallas didn't qualify for the playoffs in 2008 after losing the last game 44-6 to the Philadelphia Eagles, which meant they missed out on a wild card berth. Phillips' Cowboys won their first playoff game in 12 years on January 9th, 2010, defeating the Eagles in the 2009-10 playoffs. He then signed a contract extension that ran through the 2011 season.

5. Barry Switzer (1994-1997)​

“Jerry actually told those guys that there were 500 coaches who could have won the Super Bowl with that team,” said Jimmy Johnson. An intoxicated comment ended the Cowboys dynasty. Jerry Jones hired Barry Switzer as the new head after Jimmy Johnson's departure. There was no immediate collapse, however, as Dallas went 12-4 in both 1994 and 1995 and won another Super Bowl title. Barry Switzer was under a lot of pressure when he took over from Jimmy Johnson before the 1994 season. He was trapped in a no-win situation. If he lost, people would castigate him, but even if he won, Jimmy Johnson would get all the credit. Switzer achieved a significant amount of success despite high expectations. He holds the record for the highest winning percentage in the history of the Cowboys. His career NFL coaching record was 40-24 when he resigned following a disappointing 6-10 season in 1997.

4. Mike McCarthy (2020-present)​

Mike McCarthy's overall regular season record as an NFL head coach is 155-97-2 over 16 seasons. Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Andy Reid and Bill Belichick are the only other head coaches, besides him, to lead one franchise to eight straight playoff appearances. Posting back-to-back 12-win seasons shows you are heading in the right direction. The Cowboys haven't accomplished this since the 1993-95 seasons.

3. Bill Parcells (2003-2007)​

Regardless of what the case was. Despite the lack of playoff achievements, Parcells established a solid foundation for the future success of the Cowboys.
Bill Parcells took on the challenge of coaching a Dallas Cowboys team with no culture. During Parcells' four-year tenure with the Cowboys, the team made it to the playoffs twice; however, they were unable to secure a win during those playoff appearances. Parcells would finish his Dallas stint with a 34–30 record and no playoff wins. His greatest accomplishment as Cowboys head coach was the development of quarterback Tony Romo. He signed the quarterback in 2003 and helped him develop into a Pro Bowl quarterback by 2006. In 2003, Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones hired Parcells as head coach after three consecutive 5-11 seasons and convinced him to come out of retirement. They famously referred Bill Parcells to as "the Big Tuna." He accomplished a remarkable feat in the NFL, leading four franchises to the playoffs and taking three of them to a conference championship game.

2. Jimmy Johnson 1989-1993)​

Jimmy Johnson turned a 1-15 laughingstock team into one of the great dynasties in NFL history. The Dallas Cowboys teams he built won three Super Bowls in four years. Success was not enough for the owner and the head coach. Jones and Johnson's strained relationship led to the Dallas coach leaving the team after the 1993 season. Johnson's potential to lead the Cowboys to four consecutive championships left many disappointed.

1. Tom Landry (1960-1988)​

Besides his record 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966 to 1985, Landry won two Super Bowl titles (in Super Bowl VI and XII), five NFC titles, and 13 divisional titles.

"Landry built the 4–3 defense around me. It revolutionized defense and opened the door for all the variations of zones and man-to-man coverage, which are used in conjunction with it today. "
- Sam Huff
Between 1966 and 1982, Dallas took part in 12 NFL or NFC Championship games. From 1970 to 1982, the Cowboys appeared in 10 NFC Championship games within 13 years. In 1990, Landry was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. They referred to him as the man in the hat. Many considered Landry as one of the most iconic head coaches in NFL history, specifically for the Dallas Cowboys.
 

Majic

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I would have Jimmy at #1, Tom at #2 Bill at '#3, Barry #4
 

quickccc

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Poor Chan Gailey. hahaha
Poor Dave Campo ....

fba80ced09e05b822af3fce5d26bbf88.jpg
 

CCBoy

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Super Bowl Wins
Jimmy 2 in 5 years
Landry 2 in 29 years
Landry's record is much stronger and for 20 years as well...different zip codes. Landry was even in a much harder period of time to finish on top. Also, NFC Championships?

This started the change to top levels:

DAL19661031.7501st in NFL East01.000Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFL Championship Game
DAL1967950.6431st in NFL Capitol11.500Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFL Championship Game



DAL
1967950.6431st in NFL Capitol11.500Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFL Championship Game
DAL19681220.8571st in NFL Capitol01.000Lost to Cleveland Browns in Eastern Conference Championship Game
DAL19691121.8211st in NFL Capitol01.000Lost to Cleveland Browns in Eastern Conference Championship Game
DAL19701040.7141st in NFC East21.667Lost to Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V
DAL19711130.7861st in NFC East301.000Super Bowl VI champions
DAL19721040.7142nd in NFC East11.500Lost to Washington Commanders in NFC Championship Game
DAL19731040.7141st in NFC East11.500Lost to Minnesota Vikings in NFC Championship Game
DAL1974860.5713rd in NFC East
DAL19751040.7142nd in NFC East21.667Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl X
DAL19761130.7861st in NFC East01.000Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Divisional Game
DAL19771220.8571st in NFC East301.000Super Bowl XII champions
DAL19781240.7501st in NFC East21.667Lost to Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XIII
DAL19791150.6881st in NFC East01.000Lost to Los Angeles Rams in NFC Divisional Game
DAL19801240.7502nd in NFC East21.667Lost to Philadelphia Eagles in NFC Championship Game
DAL19811240.7501st in NFC East11.500Lost to San Francisco 49ers in NFC Championship Game
DAL1982630.6672nd in NFC21.667Lost to Washington Commanders in NFC Championship Game
 
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TequilaCowboy

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No doubt about it.....Landry still #1... the consistency, playoff run, complete HC who made an impact on the offense AND defense. Jimmy was great, but he bailed before we could find out if he could continue winning with players other than Troy, Michael and Emmitt.. But both are HOF worthy in their own right, except Tom ran a marathon and Jimmy a 100 meter sprint.
 

Big_D

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I'd put Chan Gailey ahead of Phillips and Garrett. Both were a complete waste and Gailey could've did a better job in either situation. Garrett should be the odd man out.
 

gimmesix

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I would have Jimmy at #1, Tom at #2 Bill at '#3, Barry #4
I'd probably have Barry ahead of Bill. Say what you want about what became of that team, but he still won a Super Bowl in his short time here. Maybe Bill would have won a couple with that team, but we don't know that.

To not give Barry credit is not that different than Jerry's 500 coaches comment. Barry still had to do it and it's hard to say another 499 coaches would have been able to do the same.
 

Risen Star

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1. Parcells
2. Jimmy
3. McCarthy
4. Landry
5. Phillips
6. Gailey
7. Garrett

Landry and Wade is really a coin flip.
 

CCBoy

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I'd probably have Barry ahead of Bill. Say what you want about what became of that team, but he still won a Super Bowl in his short time here. Maybe Bill would have won a couple with that team, but we don't know that.

To not give Barry credit is not that different than Jerry's 500 coaches comment. Barry still had to do it and it's hard to say another 499 coaches would have been able to do the same.
I think that comment was more based upon Jerry doing due diligence and studied up on potentially available coaches that might be approached if needed be.
 

kskboys

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Holy Larry, are you nuts? Switzer is the worst HC we've ever had. Campo was better. Prolly better than Garrett also.

Getting run over by talent does not make one a good HC.
 

RonnieT24

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Holy Larry, are you nuts? Switzer is the worst HC we've ever had. Campo was better. Prolly better than Garrett also.

Getting run over by talent does not make one a good HC.
I think you are judging Switzer too harshly. The ability to manage immense talent and egos is a skill a lot of coaches lack. Regardless of what one thinks of his personality and manner.. Switzer was a good coach. Not the greatest in the history of the game... but a good coach nonetheless. Didn't he win like 3 college championships too? You think he just kept getting lucky? He also had tremendous eye for talent. His biggest problem in Dallas was that he had to leave all the talent acquisition to Jerry and Stephen, neither of whom had his eye for it. But he was so happy to be heading up the Cowboys he daren't protest too much.
 

Kingofholland

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I don't know if this list is intended to be the best coaches in NFL history who coached the Cowboys or the best Cowboys coaches. Regardless this is how I see it.

1. Landry 2. Johnson 3. Switzer 4. Parcells 5. McCarthy 6. Phillips 7. Chan Gailey 8. Jason Garrett 9. Dave campo

1 and 2 are easy decisions, then it becomes more debatable. I would put Switzer at 3 because he has the highest win percentage of all-time and won a Super Bowl here. Parcells was here for a short period but really helped point this franchise in the right direction and did more with limited talent while infusing new talent to build on. However, I have a feeling after this season McCarthy will leap frog Parcells. He's built a stronger culture while sustaining more consistent success.
 
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