Godfidence: How the Cowboys' coach leads
Brian Schottenheimer says God is at the center of his work; his wife talks about the uncertainty of a year-to-year job.
«Godfidence». That's the word Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer has injected into the team's vocabulary, according to Sports Spectrum. Dallas comes into Thursday night's game against Tampa Bay at 2-2.
Dallas is averaging 30.5 points per game, tied for second in the NFL, and Schottenheimer is in his second season as head coach and offensive play-caller.
He was previously Mike McCarthy's offensive coordinator from 2023 to 2024. In January 2025, owner and general manager Jerry Jones promoted him to the top job. His message on the field revolves around two ideas: consistency and finishing well. What ties them together is the conviction that they are one family.
«Faith doesn't promise promotions or favorable scoreboards. It gives a floor that doesn't collapse when the coach changes.»
A word that doesn't promise wins
For Schottenheimer, faith in Jesus is at the center of his life and work, not a motivational resource that shows up when the scoreboard smiles. "God is the center of everything I do: as a husband, father, football coach, whatever," he said Monday at a press conference (Sígueme translation).
Dak Prescott, the quarterback with 11 seasons on the team and three head coaches in his career, says the difference is noticeable. Now players talk about their faith more freely. There are almost no empty seats left in the team chapels, something Prescott also credits to chaplain Jonathan Evans and his father, Tony Evans.
The house where the job lasts a year
When McCarthy and the Cowboys parted ways, there was a real risk: if the new coach came in with his own staff, coordinators like Schottenheimer could be out of work. The idea of moving and starting over crossed his and his wife Gemmi's minds.
At 51, he had a long résumé and probably would have found a job on another coaching staff. But their faith kept them steady, Gemmi said on the Twins Take Podcast. Without that faith, she said, they would have fallen apart many times. A coach's life is unstable, renewed year to year, and no one knows what comes next.
What they did know, she added, is that the Lord will not leave them or guide them wrong. They may not like what comes, but they trust they are where they should be.
In the end there was no move: Jerry Jones didn't look outside and promoted him before the 2025 season. Gemmi said they were obedient and trusted that what God had prepared was what had to happen. And it happened.
When the diagnosis came before the promotion
In 2003, at 28, Schottenheimer was quarterbacks coach for the San Diego Chargers, with his father, Marty Schottenheimer, as head coach. The team chaplain, Shawn Mitchell, shaped his faith and led him to start a Bible study for coaches.
About six months later he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Gemmi was three months pregnant with their son, Sutton.
Schottenheimer says that season connected him with God in a more personal way and strengthened his marriage. On the same podcast he said some of the things they went through are bigger than football. Football is his job, not his life, and everything starts with God.
There's the point that speaks to anyone working on a short contract: faith doesn't promise promotions or favorable scoreboards. It gives a floor that doesn't collapse when the coach changes.
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3, ESV). This week you can write down on your phone three things that don't depend on your boss: who God is, who you are in Christ, and whom you serve. Would your confidence survive a 5-12 season?
