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Todd Archer
FRISCO, Texas — If there is a minute in his busy day as Dallas Cowboys head coach, Brian Schottenheimer will catch himself looking at his left arm and hand.
There he can see four of the five tattoos he has received since 2022. A fifth is on the other side of his left forearm.
At some point during the Cowboys’ training camp in Oxnard, California, Schottenheimer will look at them as a reminder of his ‘whys.’
The tattoos symbolize his Christianity, his family, how he approaches his newest job and, ultimately, what he wants his team to represent.
“It’s something permanent. It’s something that’s important to you,” Schottenheimer said. “For me, it’s a way of checking in when times are good, when times are bad, if you need to humble yourself, if you need to build yourself back up.”
The first one was done when Schottenheimer’s family was living in Tennessee. His son, Sutton, wanted a tattoo and to share the moment with his father. But there was one problem: Sutton wasn’t old enough to get a tattoo in Tennessee.
“He was 17, not quite 18 yet at the time, so we had to leave the state of Tennessee,” Schottenheimer said. “We had to go to Kentucky to do it, even though we were going with him. Have to be 18 or older.
“I’ll never forget. They said, ‘Who’s going first?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ll go first.’ But then I said, ‘You’re going to get one, right?’ He goes, ‘Yeah, I’ll get one.’ So until he got it, I was a little concerned he might not do it. He might bail out. But he ended up getting his on his right wrist.”
Just below Schottenheimer’s left elbow reads “Jireh'” which is Hebrew for “The Lord will provide.”
“My journey, like most Christians, has been up and down, and I knew I would never get one if it didn’t have meaning to me,” Schottenheimer said. “So this song had just come out by [Christian music collective] Maverick City called ‘Jireh.’ One of my favorite songs. I’ll listen to it on good days, bad days; makes me happy.”
It didn’t take Schottenheimer long to realize he wanted another tattoo.
“It’s 100 percent addictive,” he said.
In summer 2023, Schottenheimer visited Artwerks CQ in Nashville by himself for the next one. Script lettering on the outside of his left forearm reads “faith family football.”
“My three ‘whys,'” he said.
Last summer, Sutton picked his father up at the airport in Nashville after the Cowboys’ offseason program ended. The conversation turned to tattoos. Soon, Schottenheimer got what he called his “life license plate.”
It’s on the inside of his left wrist just above where his watch band rests. It has “TN,” then the numbers 17, 27 and 19.
“Tennessee is home,” he said. “My wife’s [Gemmi] birthday is the 17th, the 27th is my son’s birthday and the 19th is my daughter’s [Savannah] birthday.”
The next tattoo was inspired by a songwriter friend of Schottenheimer’s, Jason Ingram. Between Ingram’s forefinger and thumb is the word “Hope.” Schottenheimer wanted a different word that would exemplify the attitude and work ethic he has exhibited throughout his coaching career: “grit.”
The spot of the tattoo is purposeful. He can see it every day and it serves as a constant reminder.
“Grit encompasses everything that I believe it takes to be a champion,” Schottenheimer said. “And when I say ‘champion’ I don’t just mean in sports. I mean in every area of your life: husband, father, friend. Life is never easy. There are high highs and low lows, but people with grit will find a way to win and be successful by working harder and fighting longer than others.”
The most recent tattoo came in the past eight weeks between the Cowboys’ organized team activities and June minicamp. Three nails in the form of a cross below Jireh and closer to his left elbow.
“This one is just reminding me that Jesus suffered for me and my sins,” he said. “That’s what the nails are for.”
The cross took the longest to complete — about 25 minutes. The others took anywhere from 15 to 18 minutes.
“It’s pressure,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s not painful.”
Leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, the tattoos became something of a conversation starter. A few prospects during the top-30 visits asked Schottenheimer about them. He in turn asked them what their tattoos meant.
It’s a conversation that has also come up with current Cowboys, such as quarterback Dak Prescott.
“I’m a guy that has a lot of tattoos, and I feel like when you have something meaningful and you want to put it on you, why not?” Prescott said. “Especially when it’s a reminder. It’s who you are. It’s something that you’re proud of. I know his have a lot of thought and details in them.”
Schottenheimer enjoys hearing the players’ stories about their tattoos.
“That’s one thing I learned,” Schottenheimer said. “Hey, why did you get that? Oh, I lost my dad or I lost my aunt. The stories talking to these guys, like Dak’s whole [personal life] story on his leg is incredible, [Jake Ferguson’s] leg, [CeeDee Lamb’s] back. It’s about the people they love.
“It’s interesting that I’ve not gotten one to celebrate my dad yet. Not saying I won’t, but it’s not come into my mind yet.”
Marty Schottenheimer, a long-time NFL coach, passed away in 2021 from Alzheimer’s. Brian joked that his father probably would have tried to talk him out of getting the tattoos because of the permanence.
“Hell, I was, what, 49 when I did it?” he said. “I just think as you get older, you get more comfortable with who you are. I think that’s been one of the best things for me over the last three, four years — from the time I left [as offensive coordinator in] Seattle [after the 2020 season], losing my dad — just having that confidence to just be who the hell you are. Like, who cares what people think?”
Schottenheimer is thinking about a sixth tattoo for his arm. The creed he has come up with for the team is “Compete every day.”
He knows he will keep one spot free from ink — the top of his left forearm — for something special. The design is not finalized. It could be a replica of the Lombardi Trophy or the Super Bowl ring he envisions winning with the Cowboys.
“It’s going to have something to do with the team,” he said. “So that’s why I think it’ll probably be more of the ring or something like that than just the trophy.”
