Gottfried's autobiography, entitled Coach's Challenge: Faith, Football, and Filling the Father Gap and co-written by Ron Benson, was released on September 11, 2007. Gottfried and his wife, Mickey, founded Team Focus in 2000, a cost-free community outreach program aimed at young men without fathers. Gottfried felt drawn to start Team Focus, because he lost his father at age 11 and understood the difficulties and hardships of young men growing up without fathers.