2000 Dallas Cowboys

The 2000 Dallas Cowboys season would mark their 41st in the NFL and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would promote the team's long-time defensive coordinator, Dave Campo to be the fifth head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

2000 Dallas Cowboys season
Head Coach	Dave Campo
Home Field	Texas Stadium
Results
Record	5–11
Place	4th NFC East
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	1
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1999	2001

Offseason

The loss of star wide receiver Michael Irvin to retirement lead Jerry Jones to trade the team's first round pick in the 2000 draft and the 2001 draft to the Seattle Seahawks for wide receiver Joey Galloway. Pro Bowl cornerback Deion Sanders would also be released after five seasons with the team. He would later sign with NFC East division rival, the Washington Redskins.

Regular season

After a lackluster draft which saw the team draft three cornerbacks to replace the departure of star cornerback Deion Sanders, the Dave Campo head coaching era would have an inauspicious start with an embarrassing blow-out defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles at home (in which the Eagles recovered an onsides kick on the opening kickoff). The loss would prove to be even more costly as quarterback Troy Aikman would suffer a serious concussion early in the game and newly acquired wide receiver Joey Galloway would suffer a season ending injury in the fourth quarter.

New faces like veteran quarterback Randall Cunningham and wide receiver James McKnight would fill in on offense under new offensive coordinator Jack Reilly. On defense, the loss of both starting cornerbacks in the off-season required the addition of veterans Phillipi Sparks and Ryan McNeil. Combined with perennial Pro Bowl safety Darren Woodson, the Cowboys fielded one of the NFL's best secondaries. Unfortunately, a leaky run defense and an inconsistent, aging offense would lead to a 5–11 record.

In a blow-out loss to the San Francisco 49ers, then controversial 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens would cause an uproar by celebrating a touchdown on the large Cowboys star at midfield in Texas Stadium, prompting anger and resentment off the field. This prompted a retaliation by running back Emmitt Smith with a his famous "Defend the Star" kneel down celebration of his own on the star. When Owens scored his second touchdown and promptly celebrated in midfield once more, then-safety George Teague knocked Owens off and a short brawl ensued on the field. Ironically, Owens would become a Cowboy later on in his career.

Emmitt Smith's tenth consecutive 1,000 yard season(an NFL record), along with a season sweep of the rival Washington Redskins would prove to be the only highlights in an otherwise disappointing season.

The Cowboys finished 31st in the league in run defense that season, allowing 164.8 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry.

Notable additions to the team include future starting cornerback Mario Edwards, as well as Dwayne Goodrich. Goodrich would gain notoriety after being involved in a hit run incident which resulted in the deaths of two people. He was subsequently convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 2000	Philadelphia Eagles	L 41–14	62,872
2	September 10, 2000	at Arizona Cardinals	L 32–31	66,008
3	September 18, 2000	at Washington Redskins	W 27–21	84,431
4	September 24, 2000	San Francisco 49ers	L 41–24	64,127
5	October 1, 2000	at Carolina Panthers	W 16–13	68,909
6	Bye week
7	October 15, 2000	at New York Giants	L 19–14	78,189
8	October 22, 2000	Arizona Cardinals	W 48–7	62,981
9	October 29, 2000	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 23–17	63,554
10	November 5, 2000	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–13	65,636
11	November 12, 2000	Cincinnati Bengals	W 23–6	62,170
12	November 19, 2000	at Baltimore Ravens	L 27–0	69,416
13	November 23, 2000	Minnesota Vikings	L 27–15	63,878
14	December 3, 2000	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 27–7	65,621
15	December 10, 2000	Washington Redskins	W 32–13	63,467
16	December 17, 2000	New York Giants	L 17–13	61,311
17	December 25, 2000	at Tennessee Titans	L 31–0	68,498

Standings

Template:2000 NFC East standings

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 2000 roster
Quarterbacks  8 Troy Aikman  7 Randall Cunningham  5 Clint Stoerner  2 Anthony Wright Running Backs 35 Troy Hambrick 22 Emmitt Smith 44 Robert Thomas FB 32 Michael Wiley Wide Receivers 85 Chris Brazzell 16 Damon Hodge 83 Wane McGarity PR 82 James McKnight 87 Jason Tucker KR Tight Ends 88 Jackie Harris 89 David LaFleur 46 James Whalen		Offensive Linemen 76 Flozell Adams T 73 Larry Allen G 64 Jorge Diaz G 66 Ben Fricke C 61 Kelvin Garmon G 71 Alcender Jackson T/G 62 Craig Page C 77 Solomon Page G/T 79 Erik Williams T Defensive Linemen 96 Ebenezer Ekuban DE 98 Greg Ellis DE 97 Aaron Fields DE 94 Michael Myers DT 75 Brandon Noble DT 68 Noel Scarlett DT 90 Alonzo Spellman DE 91 Dimitrius Underwood DT		Linebackers 58 Joe Bowden OLB 52 Dexter Coakley OLB 56 Orantes Grant OLB 54 Darren Hambrick OLB 59 Dat Nguyen MLB 57 Barron Wortham MLB Defensive Backs 27 Mario Edwards CB 23 Dwayne Goodrich CB 38 Duane Hawthorne CB 41 Kareem Larrimore CB 47 Ryan McNeil CB 43 Izell Reese FS 20 Phillippi Sparks SS/CB 25 Charlie Williams CB Special Teams 70 Dale Hellestrae LS/OT  4 Micah Knorr P  6 Tim Seder K		Reserve Lists 84 Joey Galloway WR (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 95 Chad Hennings DT (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 81 Raghib Ismail WR (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 78 Leon Lett DT (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 86 Mike Lucky TE (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 29 Greg Myers SS/FS (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 53 Mark Stepnoski C (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 31 George Teague FS (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 28 Darren Woodson SS (IR) File:Injury icon.svg 93 Peppi Zellner DE (IR) File:Injury icon.svg Rookies in italics 50 Active, 10 Inactive