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I really don't see how this article promotes the idea that God favors any particular team simply because a coach or a player happens to be very religious or evangelical.
It seems the idea behind this article was simply to explore a side of Joe Gibbs that maybe some Redskins fans weren't aware of. Gibbs is an immortal figure in Washington because of his legendary history with the Redskins, but many fans know very little about Joe Gibbs the person. So it makes sense that the media would want to shed a little more light on what is clearly a huge aspect of Joe Gibbs' personality and life beyond football.
It's also no coincidence that the article was published Easter weekend. Many readers are obviously in a spiritual or religious mood at this time of year, so the media's human interest stories are certainly going to take a more ethereal tone. What more appropriate subject to write about for the Easter Weekend editions of Washington's most visible newspaper than the Christian journey of one of Washington's most celebrated figures?
I don't think the writer of this article nor Joe Gibbs himself would ever make the assertion that simply being a devout Christian (or being "more Christian" than others) makes one successful in and of itself, or makes one more deserving of reward. As much as he is known for his devotion to Christianity, Joe Gibbs is defined by the genuine humility he exhibits in all that he says and he does. Such humility always speaks to the high esteem in which he holds his peers, and above all else, the sense that he will always have to work that much harder to make himself worthy of competing on their level.
Joe Gibbs' Christian principles do not operate on the assumption that he is good-- they are predicated on the idea that he is not good enough.
And that's why he's better than most.
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