Ranking every Cowboys head coach's record in first season: Worst to first

Tom Landry being at the bottom of any list pertaining to the Cowboys doesn't seem real. However, being the first head coach of the iconic franchise definitely had its bumps in the road.

In Landry's first season as the head man of the Cowboys, the team finished with a 0-11-1 record. Hopefully, things got better for Landry as time went on.

8. Jimmy Johnson: 1-15

Another name you wouldn't expect to see at the bottom of any Cowboys ranking is former head coach Jimmy Johnson.

However, when Johnson took over the team in 1989, it was a hard rebuild that included a rookie quarterback named Troy Aikman. Maybe you've heard of him.

Johnson's first year ended with a 1-15 record. But just like Landry, something tells me the future was bright for Johnson in Dallas.

7. Dave Campo: 5-11

Dave Campo spent three seasons as the Cowboys' head coach. In all three seasons, Campo and the team would finish with a 5-11 record.

Not the worst first-year season for a head coach in franchise history. However, the Campo era has probably been erased from most fans' minds.

6. Mike McCarthy: 6-10

The Mike McCarthy era just finished with the team going 7-10 this past season. McCarthy's first season with the franchise wasn't much different, just five seasons ago.

To no fault of McCarthy's, the former Cowboys head coach was given the reins to a team stuck in purgatory. Unfortunately, McCarthy could never fully escape said purgatory.

5. Jason Garrett: 8-8

No one should be surprised that Jason Garrett went 8-8 in his first season as head coach of the Cowboys,

Garrett would have that same record three other times in his tenure as head coach in Dallas, including his final season with the franchise. Just call him the .500 man.

T. 3. Bill Parcells & Chan Gailey: 10-6

We have a tie for third place in the rankings. Legendary head coach Bill Parcells and Chan Gailey would both finish 10-6 in their first seasons with the Cowboys.

Parcells had just one losing season in his four years in Dallas, while Gailey took the team to the postseason in both years of his head coaching tenure.

2. Barry Switzer: 12-4

There's no argument that former head coach Barry Switzer walked into the greatest position a first-year head coach has ever been in.

The Cowboys were coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories, and Switzer kept the team on top with a 12-4 start in his journey as Dallas' head coach. The following season, Switzer would hold a Lombardi Trophy of his own.

1. Wade Phillips: 13-3

The Wade Phillips era started with high expectations as the former Cowboys head coach finished with a 13-3 record in his first season.

However, the Phillips era would end just like every other coach from the 2000s: with a deflating "what the hell happened" type of exit.