Dave Campo Dave Campo ( born July 18 , 1947 ) is an American football coach , the current Defensive Coordinator and secondary coach for the University of Kansas . Early years . Campo attended Robert E . Fitch High School in Groton , Connecticut , where he lettered in football and baseball . College . Campo attended Central Connecticut State , where he lettered football and baseball . In football , he played defensive back . In baseball , he played shortstop and was a two - time All - East selection . In 1999 , Campo was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from his alma mater . Of more than 50 such degrees awarded by CCSU , Campo ' s remains the only one titled " Doctor of Health and Physical Education " . Coaching career . Campo began his coaching career in 1971 at his alma mater , coaching two seasons followed by stints at Albany ( 1973 ) ; Bridgeport ( 1974 ) ; Pitt ( 1975 ) ; Washington State ( 1976 ) ; Boise State ( 1977 – 79 ) ; Oregon State ( 1980 ) ; Weber State ( 1981 – 82 ) ; Iowa State ( 1983 ) ; and Syracuse ( 1984 – 86 ) . 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 and was a part of two Super Bowl championships as secondary coach ( the 1992 and 1993 seasons ) . When Butch Davis left the Cowboys to become the Miami Hurricanes ' head coach after the 1994 season , Campo was promoted to defensive coordinator . In his first season as defensive coordinator , the Cowboys won the super bowl . After five seasons as defensive coordinator , Campo was named as the fifth head coach of the Cowboys on January 26 , 2000 . Dallas Cowboys . Campo ' s head coaching debut was marred by a successfully executed , surprise on - side 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 harshly criticized after 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 ( a one possession game ) 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 La ' Roi 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 line , Campo opted for a field goal attempt even though there was a considerable amount of time left in the game . The attempt failed and taking over at the 30 , the 49ers drove down the field to win the game . Campo ' s team was blown out the next two games and finished the season 5 - 11 again , after which he was fired . To date , he is the only Cowboys head coach to have never posted a winning season or coached a playoff game . He was often seen on the sideline with his hands on his hips and screaming at refs and other players . This came to be known as ' Campo Livid . ' After his dismissal from the Cowboys , Campo was hired as defensive coordinator by Cleveland Browns head coach Butch Davis , Campo ' s predecessor as Cowboys defensive coordinator . After Davis resigned from the Browns , his successor Romeo Crennel , fired Campo . Campo then joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as Assistant Head Coach and Secondary Coach . In January 2008 , Campo was re - hired by the Cowboys as their secondary coach . University of Kansas . On January 13 , 2012 , Kansas head coach Charlie Weis hired Campo as defensive coordinator and secondary coach .