2002 Dallas Cowboys season

Last updated

2002 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerJerry Jones
General manager Jerry Jones
Head coach Dave Campo
Home stadium Texas Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place4th NFC East
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers La'Roi Glover DT
All-Pros La'Roi Glover (2nd team)

The 2002 Dallas Cowboys season was the 43rd season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and the third and final under head coach Dave Campo. It was Emmitt Smith's 13th and final season with the team, officially marking the end of the famed "triplets" tenure in Dallas after wide receiver Michael Irvin was forced to retire prematurely after the 1999 season and quarterback Troy Aikman retired prior to the start of the 2001 season. All three players would eventually be inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was also the last of three consecutive 5–11 finishes for the Cowboys, which began in 2000. Texas Stadium also saw new RealGrass Turf surface by week 5, replacing the AstroTurf. The Cowboys' 5–11 record meant that they were the only NFL team operational from 2000 to 2002 that did not win more than 5 games in a season.

Contents

Offseason

AdditionsSubtractions
TE Tony McGee (Bengals)QB Ryan Leaf (Seahawks/Retirement)
LB Kevin Hardy (Jaguars)LS Mike Solwold (Buccaneers)
DT La'Roi Glover (Saints)WR Darrin Chiaverini (Falcons)
WR Darnay Scott (Bengals)FS Izell Reese (Broncos)

Despite an off-season filled with promise, the season would again prove to be a disaster. Former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator and head coach Bruce Coslet was brought in to run the offense for Dallas. Even though he had been dismissed by Cincinnati, his history of high-powered offenses while running the Bill Walsh–style West Coast offense provided hope for the Cowboys. A promising draft which included former Oklahoma Sooners All-American selection safety Roy Williams in the first round and the free agent addition of Pro Bowl defensive tackle La'Roi Glover provided even more hope for weary Cowboy fans. The team was also covered throughout training camp and featured on the HBO series Hard Knocks with a strong emphasis on the anticipation of running back Emmitt Smith's road to the NFL's all-time rushing record.

2002 draft class

2002 Dallas Cowboys draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 8 Roy Williams  *  S Oklahoma
237 Andre Gurode  *  C Colorado
263 Antonio Bryant   WR Pittsburgh
375 Derek Ross   CB Ohio State
4129 Jamar Martin   FB Ohio State
5168 Pete Hunter   DB Virginia Union
6179 Tyson Walter   G Ohio State
6208 Deveren Johnson  WR Sacred Heart compensatory
6211 Bob Slowikowski   TE Virginia Tech compensatory
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Notes

[1]

Undrafted free agents

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Khary Campbell Linebacker Bowling Green
Billy Cundiff Placekicker Drake
Woodrow Dantzler Running back Clemson
Keith Davis Safety Sam Houston State
Filip Filipović Punter South Dakota
Chad Hutchinson Quarterback Stanford

Regular season

The air was immediately let out of the Cowboys' balloon in the opening regular-season contest which saw the team lose to first-year expansion team and new cross-state rival, the Houston Texans. Though quarterback Quincy Carter again opened the season as the starter, he was eventually benched in favor of newly signed Chad Hutchinson who, until that year, had been a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals after leaving Stanford as a two-sport star. Many believed that owner Jerry Jones pressured head coach Dave Campo into starting Hutchinson much too early, due in part to the large signing bonus Jones paid to acquire the quarterback. Regardless, neither quarterback proved effective and the team once again spiraled towards a losing season.

It is believed 2002 was the first time an NFL franchise had five African American starters on their offensive line, when the Cowboys lined up rookie center Andre Gurode, tackles Flozell Adams and Solomon Page, guards Larry Allen and Kelvin Garmon. [2]

The Cowboys kept making NFL history on October 27 at home against the Seattle Seahawks. Despite a close loss, Emmitt Smith broke the all-time career yardage rushing record previously held by Walter Payton. [3] The game was stopped momentarily in recognition of the moment, allowing an emotional Smith to briefly celebrate with teammates both current and past who attended the game, as well as members of Payton's family. Smith later scored the 125th rushing touchdown of his career on the same drive. The milestone moment would provide the lone bright spot of the year for the team and Smith, who failed to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season for the first time in his career since his rookie season of 1990. Overshadowed by the NFL rushing landmark, safety Darren Woodson quietly became the Cowboys' all-time leading tackler.

During a late-season loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, reports began to surface that owner Jerry Jones had secretly met with Bill Parcells, the former head coach of the New York Giants, New England Patriots and New York Jets, about the Cowboys' head-coaching position, on board Jones's private jet. Though this would prove to be a critical move to the Cowboys' future success, it was nonetheless embarrassing for current head coach Dave Campo, who had received no word that any potential moves were pending, and Jones was roundly criticized for the incident. On-field ineptitude and off-field controversy once again led to a 5–11 season, the team's third consecutive such finish. Dave Campo was predictably dismissed after the season.

Notable additions to the team included wide receiver Antonio Bryant and center Andre Gurode.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultAttendanceRecord
1September 8, 2002at Houston Texans L 10–1969,6040–1
2September 15, 2002 Tennessee Titans W 21–1362,5271–1
3September 22, 2002at Philadelphia Eagles L 13–4465,5371–2
4September 29, 2002at St. Louis Rams W 13–1066,1652–2
5October 6, 2002 New York Giants L 17–2163,4472–3
6October 13, 2002 Carolina Panthers W 14–1361,7733–3
7October 20, 2002at Arizona Cardinals L 6–9 (OT)59,7023–4
8October 27, 2002 Seattle Seahawks L 14–1763,8543–5
9November 3, 2002at Detroit Lions L 7–961,7893–6
10 Bye
11November 17, 2002at Indianapolis Colts L 3–2057,0573–7
12November 24, 2002 Jacksonville Jaguars W 21–1962,2044–7
13 November 28, 2002 Washington Redskins W 27–2063,6065–7
14December 8, 2002 San Francisco 49ers L 27–3164,0975–8
15December 15, 2002at New York Giants L 7–3778,6985–9
16December 21, 2002 Philadelphia Eagles L 3–2763,2095–10
17December 29, 2002at Washington Redskins L 14–2084,1425–11

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2: vs. Tennessee Titans

Week 2: Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys
Quarter1234Total
Titans730313
Cowboys077721

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

  • Date: September 15, 2002
  • Game time: 12:00 PM
  • Game weather: Cloudy skies, 81 °F (27.2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 62,527
  • Referee: Ed Hochuli (85)
  • TV: CBS
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: at Detroit Lions

Week 9: Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions
Quarter1234Total
Cowboys00077
Lions00639

at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Game information

Week 12: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars at Dallas Cowboys
Quarter1234Total
Jaguars0501419
Cowboys077721

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Game information

Standings

Division

NFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(1) Philadelphia Eagles 1240.7505–111–1415241L1
(5) New York Giants 1060.6255–18–4320279W4
Washington Redskins 790.4381–54–8307365W2
Dallas Cowboys 5110.3131–53–9217329L4

Conference

NFC
#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOV
Division leaders
1 [a] Philadelphia Eagles East1240.7505–111–1.469.432
2 [a] [b] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South1240.7504–29–3.482.432
3 [a] [b] Green Bay Packers North1240.7505–19–3.451.414
4 San Francisco 49ers West1060.6255–18–4.504.450
Wild Cards
5 New York Giants East1060.6255–18–4.482.450
6 Atlanta Falcons South961.5944–27–5.494.429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7 New Orleans Saints South970.5633–37–5.498.566
8 [c] St. Louis Rams West790.4384–25–7.508.446
9 [c] Seattle Seahawks West790.4382–45–7.506.433
10 [d] Washington Redskins East790.4381–54–8.527.438
11 [d] Carolina Panthers South790.4381–54–8.486.357
12 Minnesota Vikings North6100.3754–25–7.498.417
13 [e] Arizona Cardinals West5110.3131–55–7.500.400
14 [e] Dallas Cowboys East5110.3131–53–9.500.475
15 Chicago Bears North4120.2502–43–9.521.430
16 Detroit Lions North3130.1881–53–9.494.375
Tiebreakers [f]
  1. 1 2 3 Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3).
  2. 1 2 Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory.
  3. 1 2 St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4).
  4. 1 2 Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4)
  5. 1 2 Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory.
  6. ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Personnel

Staff

2002 Dallas Cowboys staff

Front office

  • Owner, President and General Manager – Jerry Jones
  • COO, Director of Player Personnel, and Executive Vice President – Stephen Jones
  • Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Vice President, and General Counsel – Jerry Jones, Jr.
  • Assistant Director Player Personnel – Todd Williams
  • Director of Football Operations – Bruce Mays
  • Director of College and Pro Scouting – Larry Lancewell

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Joe Juraszek
  • Assistant Strength and conditioning – Tony Ollison
  • Assistant Strength and conditioning – Bennie Wylie

[4]

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 2002 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
53 active, 11 inactive, 5 practice squad

Awards and records

Publications

The Football Encyclopedia ISBN   0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN   0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN   0-446-51950-2

References

  1. ↑ "2002 NFL Draft Pick Transactions". ProSportsTransactions.com.
  2. ↑ Pasquarelli, Len (August 13, 2002). "Color barrier on offensive line disappearing". ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  3. ↑ Numbelievable!, p. 159, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN   978-1-57243-990-0
  4. ↑ "Media Guide Dallas Cowboys". Dallas Cowboys. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
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