COWBOYS
Complete list of all of the Dallas Cowboys coaches over the years
Since the Dallas Cowboys got their start as an expansion team in 1960, there have been nine different head coaches with varying degrees of success.
The Dallas Cowboys have been around since 1960, when they first started as an expansion team. Their first coach ever, Tom Landry, stayed with the team for 29 years, bringing them to several NFC championships and two Super Bowl victories. He remains the Cowboys coach with the greatest number of games coached and games won. Since he was fired by Jerry Jones in 1989, the Cowboys have had eight other coaches, some bringing the team to success, and others…not so much.
Let’s take a look back at all the Dallas Cowboys coaches throughout franchise history.
Tom Landry, 1960-1988
Landry was the Cowboys’ first coach and in his 29-year tenure with the team, he took them to the playoffs 18 times with a 20-16 postseason record. He took them to five Super Bowls in the 1970s, winning two. The Cowboys lost Super Bowl V against the Baltimore Colts in 1970, won against the Miami Dolphins in 1971, lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1975, beat the Denver Broncos in 1977, and lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers again in 1978.
Jimmy Johnson, 1989-1993
When Jerry Jones took over as owner of the Cowboys in 1989, the first thing he did was fire Landry and hire old Arkansas teammate Jimmy Johnson. Despite taking the team to two Super Bowl victories in 1992 against the Buffalo Bills and 1993 against the Bills again, Johnson actually holds the third-worst record in coaching history at 44-36. Johnson and Jones had a bit of a power struggle over who had the say on football operations, and in the end they mutually agreed to part ways in 1994. Johnson was finally inducted into the Cowboys “Ring of Honor” in 2017, when he and Jones appeared to finally mend their friendship. Until then, Jones said he “couldn’t handle the disloyalty” of Johnson, and snubbed him from the honor for many years.
Barry Switzer, 1994-1997
Jones then hired another former Arkansas player, Barry Switzer. Switzer took the Cowboys to Super Bowl victory in 1995 over the Pittsburgh Steelers in just his second season with the team. He stayed as the head coach for four years, and ended his tenure with a 40-24 record, making him the second-most successful head coach in franchise history. Unfortunately for Dallas, 1995 under the helm of Switzer was the last time they reached an NFC title game.
Chan Gailey, 1998-1999
Gailey took over for Switzer after he struggled in his last season with Dallas. Gailey spent the shortest amount of time with the team of any other head coach, spending just two seasons there. His Cowboys team won the NFC East division in 1998 and made it to the postseason both years in a row, but lost in the first round both times.
Dave Campo, 2000-2002
Dave Campo joined the Cowboys in 1989 as a defensive assistant coach and became the defensive backs coach in 1990. He was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1994, and finally took over for as head coach in 2000. He coached the Cowboys for the next three years and became the least successful head coach in franchise history, with a record of 15-33. He is the only Cowboys coach to have never posted a winning season or made it to a playoff game.
Bill Parcells, 2003-2006
Jerry Jones then pursued Bill Parcells, luring him out of retirement to take over as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. They made it to the postseason twice but failed to win a game. He ended his four-year tenure with a 34-30 record, making him the second-least successful coach in franchise history after Campo. He did, however, implement a tradition that stands to this day - earning the star. He stated that wearing the Cowboys star is a privilege that must be earned and had the stars removed from all rookies’ helmets. To this day, all drafted and undrafted free agents must officially make the roster before having the star logo placed on their helmets.
Wade Phillips, 2007-2010
Wade Phillips was the third-most successful coach in Cowboys history with a 34-22 record after four seasons. He led the team to the playoffs in his first season, but they were eliminated in the first round. The next season, the Cowboys failed to make the playoffs, losing magnificently to the rival Eagles, 44-6 to end the regular season. In 2009, Phillips led the Cowboys to the postseason again and they won their first postseason game in 12 years against the Eagles in the Wild Card round. He signed a four-year contract extension with the Cowboys after that season, but ended up getting fired in November of the following year after starting the season at 1-8, the second-worst start in franchise history.
Jason Garrett, 2010-2019
Former Cowboys quarterback Jason Garrett took over as interim head coach mid-season in 2010 when Phillips was fired. He eventually became the permanent successor and stayed for the next (way too long) nine years, the longest Cowboys tenure of any coach besides Landry. From 2011-2013, he had three straight 8-8 seasons with regular season finale losses to division rivals Giants, Commanders, and Eagles to miss the NFC East title and the playoffs each year.
His best year came in 2014 when the Cowboys finished the regular season as NFC East champions after a 12-4 regular season. He took them to the Divisional Round of the playoffs where they lost to the Green Bay Packers after a controversial catch by wide receiver Dez Bryant was called back. He then signed a 5-year contract extension in 2015, but ended that season with a 4-12 record after quarterback Tony Romo was injured after Week 4. Current QB Dak Prescott joined the team in 2016 and Garrett led them to a 13-3 record and a first-round bye in the playoffs. As per usual, the Cowboys lost in the first round, again to the Packers. The following year, they finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. In 2018, the Cowboys made a mid-season comeback and won the NFC East for the third time under Garrett. In Garrett’s last season, the Cowboys finished 8-8 yet again, concluding his nine-year tenure with Dallas with a record of 85-67 in the regular season and 2-3 in the playoffs.
Mike McCarthy, 2020-Present
It may shock you to hear this, but over the last five years, the Cowboys’ current coach has become the most successful head coach in franchise history as far as winning records, with a 42-25 record heading into the 2024 season. Things started out rough for McCarthy in 2020 as Prescott goto injured in Week 5. They ended that season at 6-10 and third in the division. The next year, he turned things around, leading them to a 12-5 record and NFC East champions.
They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the San Francisco 49ers in a wild ending that saw the McCarthy use a quarterback draw with 14 seconds left and then the Cowboys running out the clock in an attempt to spike the ball to stop it. In 2022, McCarthy led the Cowboys to another 12-5 record. They made it to the playoffs, beating the Bucs in the Wild Card Round before losing to the Niners in the Divisional Round.
In 2023, McCarthy saw yet another 12-5 season, but this time they lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Packers in embarrassing fashion at home. Though he’s been said to be in the hot seat many times, Jones doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of wanting to get rid of McCarthy, instead showing great faith in him and belief that he can take them to another Super Bowl for the first time in decades.