Copyright TODAY
When Sherman Smith entered Deland McCullough’s life, he became his lifelong friend, role model and father figure. The two football pros had many parallels in their careers, but neither of them had any idea that they had something much more significant in common: genetics. McCullough, who was raised by his adoptive mother, Adelle Comer, in Youngstown, Ohio, first met Smith when he was 16 years old. At the time, McCullough was being recruited to play football for Miami University in Ohio, where Smith was the running backs coach. From the very beginning, Smith was determined to play an important role in the young recruit’s life. “The statement that I would make to the players as I coached them, I would say, ‘You may not be looking for a father, but I treat you like you’re my son,’” he told NBC’s Kathy Park for TODAY. Smith himself had played for Miami of Ohio and went on to play eight seasons in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers before he coached in Miami. His path eventually led him back to the Seahawks, where he became a running backs coach. As for McCullough, he too went to the NFL, though his stint brief; he suffered a knee injury that tanked his dreams of a pro career. Many years after they first met, when McCullough had taken up coaching and became a husband and father himself, he embarked on a journey to find his biological father. He discovered through his adoption records that his birth mother lived just minutes away from him and set up a meeting with her. “So I said, ‘Well, well, shoot, who’s my dad, you know?” he recalled. “And she said, ‘Your dad is a man named Sherman Smith.’” McCullough was astounded to discover that his mentor of many years was his birth father. As it turns out, Smith knew McCullough’s birth mother when they were both teens, but never knew she had given birth to their child. “He opened the door, and he just opened his arms. He said, ‘My son,’” McCullough recalled of the first time they met as father and son. While reflecting on the incredible coincidence, Smith said could only describe it as divine intervention. “There’s no way you could write this, all these connections. You just have to believe that this is God directing our steps,” he said. Since McCullough had been raised by a single mother, he welcomed the idea of a father figure with open arms. With time, they soon saw that they had a lot in common. “Both of us had great careers at Miami. Both of us (are) in the Hall of Fame at Miami. Both of us going to play professional. Both of our careers ended because of knee surgeries, multiple knee surgeries. Both of us, after playing football, getting an education. Both of us go to the Super Bowl multiple times, and unfortunately, both of us lose to Tom Brady,” McCullough said. Smith wrapped his time with Seahawks in 2017. McCullough is now the running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders. For years, people have compared McCullough and Smith. Raiders head coach Pete Carroll, who previously worked with both of them at the Seahawks, even called out their similarities. “It was just kind of spooky. It makes me chuckle all the time. I see the looks. I see the mannerisms. It’s just a magnificent story,” he said. McCullough and Smith’s story became a book and is now being considered for the big screen. “I want Denzel Washington to play my part,” Smith joked. “I’m putting it out there, Denzel. I want you to know that.” Football brought the father and son together and created a life-changing bond that McCullough had longed for his entire life. The duo gets together as often as they can and they seem to have inspired a new generation — three of McCullough’s four sons are now playing football — to follow in their footsteps.
