Graham Murray replaced Hurst after three rounds and helped the club to their highest finish (11th) and most competition points (20) at the time.
A number of players were moved on, with the key recruit being former Australian and Queensland winger Matt Sing.
Sing was an instant success for the club, finishing the 2002 season as the team's top try scorer and being named their Player of the Year.
He would later earn his way back into representative sides, becoming a club legend for the Cowboys, being named in their 10th and 20th Anniversary Teams and an inaugural inductee into their Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jones, the first player to play 100 games for the club, would remain on the Cowboys football operations staff until the end of 2012.