Dave Campo

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Dave Campo (born July 18, 1947) is an American football coach, a former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, and currently secondary coach with the Cowboys.

[edit] High School Years

Campo attended Robert E. Fitch High School in Groton, Connecticut and was a student and a letterman in football and baseball.

[edit] College Years

Campo attended Central Connecticut State, and was a student and a letterman in football and baseball. In football, he played defensive back. In baseball, he played shortstop and was a two-time All-East selection.

[edit] Coaching career

Campo began his coaching career in 1971 at his alma mater, coaching two seasons followed by a series of short stints at the University of Albany (1973), Bridgeport (1974), the University of Pittsburgh (1975), Washington State (1976), Boise State (1977-79), Oregon State (1980), Weber State (1981-82) and Iowa State (1983).

In 1987, Campo joined the University of Miami staff under head coach Jimmy Johnson as secondary coach. At Miami, he helped the Hurricanes to a two-year record of 23-1 and the 1987 National Championship. Safety Bennie Blades was the 1987 Thorpe Award winner before being selected with the third pick in the NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.

After two seasons with the Hurricanes, Campo followed Johnson to the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 as assistant secondary coach. After Dick Nolan (a Landry holdover) left following the 1989 season, Campo became the secondary coach. When Butch Davis left the Cowboys to become the Miami Hurricanes' head coach after the 1994 season, Campo was promoted to defensive coordinator. After five seasons as defensive coordinator, Campo was named head coach of the Cowboys in 2000.

[edit] Dallas head coach

Campo's head coaching debut was marred by a successfully executed, surprise on-sides kick on the opening kickoff by the underdog Philadelphia Eagles in the season opener. Later in the game, the Cowboys lost Joey Galloway, their prize off-season free agent acquisition, for the season and quarterback Troy Aikman for several games with a concussion. The Cowboys lost to the Eagles 41-14 and ultimately finished the season at 5-11.

With considerably lower expectations for the 2001 season after Aikman's retirement, the Cowboys again finished 5-11, but Campo was given credit by many for getting the most out of a less talented team. However, Campo was criticized for his decisions^{[citation needed]} in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Denver Broncos when, trailing 26-10 early in the fourth quarter, Dallas scored a touchdown to make the score 26-16. Campo at first decided to go for two which would narrow the lead to 8 points but after a timeout decided to kick the extra point leaving Dallas down by 9 points and needing two possessions rather than one. Dallas was only able to score one more touchdown and lost 26-24.

In 2002, Dallas was believed to have much better talent, having acquired all pro defensive lineman LaRoi Glover and drafting talents such as safety Roy Williams and receiver Antonio Bryant, and a now-more experienced starting quarterback in Quincy Carter. The team was featured on HBO's Hard Knocks in the pre-season and Campo's leadership on that show was widely praised. However, the Cowboys stumbled in the season opener losing to the expansion Houston Texans in the Texans' very first game. Dallas entered week 13 with a 5-7 record and led the San Francisco 49ers 27-24 with about 2 minutes to play. Facing a fourth and one at the 30-yard (27 m) line, Campo opted for a field goal attempt even though the field goal to tie and substantial time left in the game. The attempt failed and taking over at the 30, the 49ers drove down the field to win the game. Owner Jerry Jones was reported to have denounced the coach in the tunnel within earshot of a few reporters.^{[citation needed]} Campo's team was blown out the next two games and finished the season 5-11 again after which was fired. Many wrote that Campo's methodical move up the coaching ladder was a textbook illustration of the "Peter Principle".^{[citation needed]}

After his dismissal from the Cowboys, Campo was hired as defensive coordinator by Cleveland Browns head coach and former Cowboys defensive coordinator, Butch Davis. After Davis resigned from the Browns, his successor Romeo Crennel decided not to keep Campo on the coaching staff. Campo then joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as Assistant Head Coach and Secondary Coach. In January of 2008, Campo was hired by the Cowboys as their secondary coach.^[1]

[edit] Personal

Campo lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. He and his wife, Kay, have six children: Angie(31), Eric(30), Becky(27), Tommy(25), Shelbie(25),Michael(16) and a nephew named Matt(22).

[edit] External links

• Jacksonville Jaguars official bio
• Dallas Cowboys official bio

[edit] References