The 2001 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 42nd in the National Football League (NFL) and second under head coach Dave Campo. The Cowboys matched their record from the season before, going 5–11 and missing the playoffs, finishing last in the NFC East. For the first time since 1988, Troy Aikman was not on the Cowboys roster as quarterback, as the three-time Super Bowl champion retired, after playing for the team from 1989 to 2000. For the only time, Pat Summerall and John Madden did not call any Cowboys games for Fox all year.
Offseason Additions SubtractionsWR Darrin Chiaverini (Browns) QB Randall Cunningham (Ravens)QB Tony Banks (Ravens) QB Troy Aikman (retirement) WR James McKnight (Dolphins) CB Ryan McNeil (Chargers) DT Leon Lett (Broncos)
An eventful off-season created a lot of buzz but little change in the Cowboys' fortunes. Franchise quarterback Troy Aikman, after suffering a pair of concussions the previous season, was released by the team. Unable to sign on with another team — in part due to his long history of concussions — Aikman announced his retirement at an emotional and lengthy press conference later in the off-season. This left running back Emmitt Smith as the last of the famed "triplets" from the Cowboys' Super Bowl victories. Veteran quarterback Tony Banks was signed in the off-season from the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens as an immediate replacement, and owner Jerry Jones hand-picked Georgia quarterback Quincy Carter with a second-round draft choice as the quarterback of the future. Many saw the Carter pick as quite a reach considering Carter's inconsistent career at Georgia and his low draft rating by several other teams.
2001 draft class
Notes The Cowboys traded their 2000 first-round (No. 19 overall) and 2001 first-round (No. 7 overall) selections to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for wide receiver Joey Galloway. The Cowboys traded their original second-round selection (No. 37 overall) to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for second- (No. 52 overall) and third-round (No. 81 overall) selections. The Cowboys traded their second-round (No. 52 overall, from Indianapolis) selection to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for second (No. 56 overall) and fourth-round (No. 122 overall) selections. The Cowboys traded two third-round (Nos. 70 and 81 overall) selections to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a second-round (No. 53 overall) selection. The Cowboys traded their fourth-round (No. 102 overall) and 2002 seventh-round (No. 217 overall) selections to the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for tight end O.J. Santiago.
Undrafted free agents
+ 2001 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDel BatesCornerbackNevadaJason BellCornerbackUCLACleavon BradshawCornerbackIdahoJaviar CollinsDefensive tackleNorthwesternDemetric EvansDefensive endGeorgiaJ. J. JonesLinebackerArkansasTravis OrtegaSafetyRiceLynn ScottSafetyNorthwestern Oklahoma StateColin SearsTackleAuburnTony TaylorRunning backNorthwestern StateJames WagstaffTackleNorth CarolinaKenny WilkersonFullbackMississippi State
Roster Dallas Cowboys 2001 roster Quarterbacks Quincy Carter Ryan Leaf Clint Stoerner
Running backs Troy Hambrick Emmitt Smith Michael Wiley KR Terry Witherspoon FB
Wide receivers Darrin Chiaverini Joey Galloway Rocket Ismail Ken-Yon Rambo Reggie Swinton KR/PR Randal Williams
Tight ends Jackie Harris Johnny Huggins Mike Lucky Offensive linemen Flozell Adams T Larry Allen G Javiar Collins T Char-ron Dorsey T Ben Fricke C/G Kelvin Garmon G Aaron Gibson T Alcender Jackson G Matt Lehr C/G Mark Stepnoski C
Defensive linemen Greg Ellis DE Demetric Evans DE Byron Frisch DE Dwayne Missouri DE Michael Myers DT John Nix DT Brandon Noble DT Peppi Zellner DELinebackers Keith Adams MLB Jamal Brooks OLB Marq Cerqua OLB Dexter Coakley OLB Orantes Grant OLB Dat Nguyen MLB Markus Steele OLB
Defensive backs Jason Bell CB Pat Dennis CB Tony Dixon SS Mario Edwards CB Duane Hawthorne CB Izell Reese CB/S Lynn Scott SS George Teague FS Darren Woodson SS
Special teams Jon Hilbert K Micah Knorr P Mike Solwold LS Reserve lists Willie Blade DT (IR) Ebenezer Ekuban DE (IR) Dwayne Goodrich CB (IR) Louis Mackey LB (IR) Solomon Page T (IR) Tim Seder K (IR) Daleroy Stewart DT (NF-Inj) Robert Thomas FB (IR) Dimitrius Underwood DT (NF-Ill) James Whalen TE (IR) Anthony Wright QB (IR) Bashir Yamini WR (IR)
Practice squad Richmond Flowers WR Anthony Lucas WR (IR) Tony Taylor RB Colston Weatherington DE Austin Wheatley TE Donny Green OLB Scott Zimmerman LB rookies in italics 53 active, 13 inactive, 5 practice squad
Coaching staff Dallas Cowboys 2001 coaching staff Front office Owner/general manager – Jerry Jones Executive vp – Stephen Jones
Head coaches Head coach – Dave Campo
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jack Reilly Quarterbacks – Wade Wilson Running backs – Clarence Shelmon Wide receivers – Wes Chandler Tight ends – Joe Avezzano Offensive line – Hudson Houck Offensive assistant – Glenn Smith Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Zimmer Defensive tackle – Andre Patterson Defensive ends – Jim Jeffcoat Linebackers – George Edwards Secondary – Pete Carmichael Jr Defensive nickel – Bill Bates
Special teams coaches Special teams – Joe Avezzano Kickers – Steve Hoffman Strength and conditioning – Joe Juraszek Source:NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 113.
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 at Oakland Raiders L 14–21 0–1 Network Associates Coliseum 2 Denver Broncos L 6–20 0–2 Texas Stadium 3 at New Orleans Saints L 10–16 0–3 Louisiana Superdome 4 August 27 vs. Oakland Raiders W 21–6 1–3 Estadio Azteca (Mexico City) 5 Jacksonville Jaguars W 27–17 2–3 Texas Stadium
Regular season Despite what seemed a promising outing in the first pre-season game by starter Tony Banks, the Cowboys, in a very surprising move, released Banks in the middle of training camp and handed the reins over to their rookie quarterback Quincy Carter. Banks would play this season with one of their rivals, the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately, a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness led the Cowboys to start a total of four different quarterbacks over the course of the season, including journeyman Anthony Wright and former Arkansas Razorback Clint Stoerner. In an attempt to provide more depth at the quarterback position, the team signed former second-overall draft pick Ryan Leaf mid-season, but he provided no improvement in his limited playing time. His only three starts of the season, a Week 9 loss to the Falcons, which also marked the first start for Falcons QB Michael Vick, a week 10 loss the Eagles, and a week 11 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Broncos, were the final starts of his career. Of those four quarterbacks, only Anthony Wright lasted into 2007.
Even with the injection of new blood, the Cowboys suffered through another 5–11 campaign. placing 5th and last in the NFC East. The lack of development at quarterback and the offense in general would be blamed on offensive coordinator Jack Reilly, who was dismissed after the season. Fans became weary of the Cowboys' performance and blamed owner Jerry Jones, who by now had taken a more hands-on approach to running the team.
One notable game included week 7, where the Cowboys led the Giants 24–7 at halftime, but (thanks in part to Clint Stoerner's 4 interceptions) the Giants rallied to win in overtime. In an unusual move, Stoerner was pulled from the game for Ryan Leaf late in the 4th quarter of a tie game. It was Leaf's debut with the team, but he couldn't lead them to victory.
Another infamous game was on Thanksgiving Day against the Broncos. Dallas trailed 26–10 and scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter. Coach Dave Campo decided against "going for 2" which if successful would have made it an eight-point (and one-possession) game. Campo instead had Dallas kick the extra point, keeping the margin at 9. Dallas did score one more late TD but that was not enough to tie the game and they never got the ball back, and lost 26–24.
A fourth consecutive season sweep of rival Washington Redskins and a victory over the San Francisco 49ers were the only victories of note. Much of the focus turned towards Emmitt Smith and his pursuit of the all-time career rushing yardage record. During an early-season game against the San Diego Chargers, Bob Hayes was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 6–10 0–1 Texas Stadium 61,521 2 September 23 San Diego Chargers L 21–32 0–2 Texas Stadium 63,430 3 September 30 at Philadelphia Eagles L 18–40 0–3 Veterans Stadium 66,621 4 October 7 at Oakland Raiders L 21–28 0–4 Network Associates Coliseum 61,535 5 Washington Redskins W 9–7 1–4 Texas Stadium 63,941 6 Bye 7 October 28 Arizona Cardinals W 17–3 2–4 Texas Stadium 63,114 8 November 4 at New York Giants L 24–27 2–5 Giants Stadium 78,673 9 November 11 at Atlanta Falcons L 13–20 2–6 Georgia Dome 69,010 10 November 18 Philadelphia Eagles L 3–36 2–7 Texas Stadium 63,204 11 November 22 Denver Broncos L 24–26 2–8 Texas Stadium 64,104 12 December 2 at Washington Redskins W 20–14 3–8 FedExField 85,112 13 December 9 New York Giants W 20–13 4–8 Texas Stadium 61,821 14 December 16 at Seattle Seahawks L 3–29 4–9 Husky Stadium 63,366 15 December 23 at Arizona Cardinals L 10–17 4–10 Sun Devil Stadium 48,883 16 December 30 San Francisco 49ers W 27–21 5–10 Texas Stadium 64,366 17 January 6 at Detroit Lions L 10–15 5–11 Pontiac Silverdome 77,512 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 2: vs San Diego Chargers
Week 8: at New York Giants
Week 11: vs Denver Broncos
Week 17: at Detroit Lions
Standings
Notes
References
Publications The Football Encyclopedia Total Football Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes
External links
Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site