text: 1999 The Cowboys started the 1999 campaign by erasing a 21-point deficit in Washington on opening day for a 41–35 overtime victory. In their fourth game of the season, however, Dallas lost Irvin to a neck injury that ended his career. Darryl Johnston also suffered a career-ending injury early in the season, and Aikman, Allen, Sanders and cornerback Kevin Smith missed time as well. Dallas sputtered to an 8–8 finish in 1999. They gained a wild-card berth in their final regular season game, but lost in Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs, 27–10. Key players were now grumbling about Gailey, and Jones fired him in January 2000.
  2000s
  Dave Campo era (2000–2002)
  Defensive coordinator Dave Campo was promoted to head coach, but he could only post three consecutive 5–11 seasons. Instability plagued the quarterback position after several concussions; the first suffered on opening day against the Eagles (known as the Pickle Juice Game because Eagles players drank pickle juice at halftime Source), finally ended Aikman's career late in the 2000 season; five different quarterbacks started between 2001 and 2002. The lowest point of the Campo era was an embarrassing and humiliating loss on opening night of the 2002 season to the brand-new Houston Texans. One of the only highlights of this era occurred on October 27, 2002, when running back Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton's all-time career yardage rushing record during a 17–14 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Many fans and media blamed Jerry Jones for the team's ills, noting that he refused to hire a strong coach, preferring to hire coaches who did not want to be involved with personnel duties so that Jones himself could manage them.
  Parcells era (2003–2006)