'It's 100% addictive': Cowboys coach Schottenheimer reveals the meaning of his tattoos

FRISCO, Texas -- If determination is simply a infinitesimal successful his engaged time arsenic Dallas Cowboys caput coach, Brian Schottenheimer volition drawback himself looking astatine his near limb and hand.

There helium tin spot 4 of the 5 tattoos helium has received since 2022. A 5th is connected the different broadside of his near forearm.

At immoderate constituent during the Cowboys' grooming campy successful Oxnard, California, Schottenheimer volition look astatine them arsenic a reminder of his 'whys.'

The tattoos symbolize his Christianity, his family, however helium approaches his newest occupation and, ultimately, what helium wants his squad to represent.

"It's thing permanent. It's thing that's important to you," Schottenheimer said. "For me, it's a mode of checking successful erstwhile times are good, erstwhile times are bad, if you request to humble yourself, if you request to physique yourself backmost up."

The archetypal 1 was done erstwhile Schottenheimer's household was surviving successful Tennessee. His son, Sutton, wanted a tattoo and to stock the infinitesimal with his father. But determination was 1 problem: Sutton wasn't aged capable to get a tattoo successful Tennessee.

"He was 17, not rather 18 yet astatine the time, truthful we had to permission the authorities of Tennessee," Schottenheimer said. "We had to spell to Kentucky to bash it, adjacent though we were going with him. Have to beryllium 18 oregon older.

"I'll ne'er forget. They said, 'Who's going first?' And I said, 'Well, I'll spell first.' But past I said, 'You're going to get one, right?' He goes, 'Yeah, I'll get one.' So until helium got it, I was a small acrophobic helium mightiness not bash it. He mightiness bail out. But helium ended up getting his connected his close wrist."

Just beneath Schottenheimer's near elbow reads "Jireh'" which is Hebrew for "The Lord volition provide."

"My journey, similar astir Christians, has been up and down, and I knew I would ne'er get 1 if it didn't person meaning to me," Schottenheimer said. "So this opus had conscionable travel retired by [Christian euphony collective] Maverick City called 'Jireh.' One of my favourite songs. I'll perceive to it connected bully days, atrocious days; makes maine happy."

It didn't instrumentality Schottenheimer agelong to recognize helium wanted different tattoo.

"It's 100 percent addictive," helium said.

In summertime 2023, Schottenheimer visited Artwerks CQ successful Nashville by himself for the adjacent one. Script lettering connected the extracurricular of his near forearm reads "faith household football."

"My 3 'whys,'" helium said.

Last summer, Sutton picked his begetter up astatine the airdrome successful Nashville aft the Cowboys' offseason programme ended. The speech turned to tattoos. Soon, Schottenheimer got what helium called his "life licence plate."

It's connected the wrong of his near wrist conscionable supra wherever his ticker set rests. It has "TN," past the numbers 17, 27 and 19.

"Tennessee is home," helium said. "My wife's [Gemmi] day is the 17th, the 27th is my son's day and the 19th is my daughter's [Savannah] birthday."

The adjacent tattoo was inspired by a songwriter person of Schottenheimer's, Jason Ingram. Between Ingram's forefinger and thumb is the connection "Hope." Schottenheimer wanted a antithetic connection that would exemplify the cognition and enactment ethic helium has exhibited passim his coaching career: "grit."

The spot of the tattoo is purposeful. He tin spot it each time and it serves arsenic a changeless reminder.

"Grit encompasses everything that I judge it takes to beryllium a champion," Schottenheimer said. "And erstwhile I accidental 'champion' I don't conscionable mean successful sports. I mean successful each country of your life: husband, father, friend. Life is ne'er easy. There are precocious highs and debased lows, but radical with grit volition find a mode to triumph and beryllium palmy by moving harder and warring longer than others."

The astir caller tattoo came successful the past 8 weeks betwixt the Cowboys' organized squad activities and June minicamp. Three nails successful the signifier of a transverse beneath Jireh and person to his near elbow.

"This 1 is conscionable reminding maine that Jesus suffered for maine and my sins," helium said. "That's what the nails are for."

The transverse took the longest to implicit -- astir 25 minutes. The others took anyplace from 15 to 18 minutes.

"It's pressure," Schottenheimer said. "It's not painful."

Leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, the tattoos became thing of a speech starter. A fewer prospects during the top-30 visits asked Schottenheimer astir them. He successful crook asked them what their tattoos meant.

It's a speech that has besides travel up with existent Cowboys, specified arsenic backmost Dak Prescott.

"I'm a feline that has a batch of tattoos, and I consciousness similar erstwhile you person thing meaningful and you privation to enactment it connected you, wherefore not?" Prescott said. "Especially erstwhile it's a reminder. It's who you are. It's thing that you're arrogant of. I cognize his person a batch of thought and details successful them."

Schottenheimer enjoys proceeding the players' stories astir their tattoos.

"That's 1 happening I learned," Schottenheimer said. "Hey, wherefore did you get that? Oh, I mislaid my dada oregon I mislaid my aunt. The stories talking to these guys, similar Dak's full [personal life] communicative connected his limb is incredible, [Jake Ferguson's] leg, [CeeDee Lamb's] back. It's astir the radical they love.

"It's absorbing that I've not gotten 1 to observe my dada yet. Not saying I won't, but it's not travel into my caput yet."

Marty Schottenheimer, a long-time NFL coach, passed distant successful 2021 from Alzheimer's. Brian joked that his begetter astir apt would person tried to speech him retired of getting the tattoos due to the fact that of the permanence.

"Hell, I was, what, 49 erstwhile I did it?" helium said. "I conscionable deliberation arsenic you get older, you get much comfy with who you are. I deliberation that's been 1 of the champion things for maine implicit the past three, 4 years -- from the clip I near [as violative coordinator in] Seattle [after the 2020 season], losing my dada -- conscionable having that assurance to conscionable beryllium who the hellhole you are. Like, who cares what radical think?"

Schottenheimer is reasoning astir a sixth tattoo for his arm. The creed helium has travel up with for the squad is "Compete each day."

He knows helium volition support 1 spot escaped from ink -- the apical of his near forearm -- for thing special. The plan is not finalized. It could beryllium a replica of the Lombardi Trophy oregon the Super Bowl ringing helium envisions winning with the Cowboys.

"It's going to person thing to bash with the team," helium said. "So that's wherefore I deliberation it'll astir apt beryllium much of the ringing oregon thing similar that than conscionable the trophy."