This NFL Player Heartwarming Adoption Story Will Leave You in Tears

Published: October 30, 2025

By Mallory Mattingly

When Sherman Smith and Deland McCullough entered each other’s lives, they had no idea they were actually related by blood.

McCullough became Smith’s “lifelong friend, role model and father figure,” per TODAY.

TODAY reported that Smith and McCullough’s “stories would first intersect when 17-year-old Deland had a personal visit from Smith — the Miami of Ohio coach who recruited him and changed his life forever.”

As soon as McCullough met Smith, he felt the “connection.”

McCullough was “orphaned at birth and adopted, Deland grew up in a single-parent home in Youngstown, Ohio. Deland credits his adoptive and supportive mother, Adelle Comer, for raising him.”

When McCullough became a father, he decided he wanted to know who his parents were.

McCullough’s biological mother lived only ten minutes away from him.

“I said, ‘Who is my dad?’ And she said, ‘Your dad is a man named Sherman Smith,'” McCullough said.

Smith, McCullough’s lifelong mentor and role model, was actually his biological father.

“There’s no way you could write this and all these connections. You just have to believe this is God directing our steps,” Smith declared.

Looking back now, the father and son duo were able to draw many parallels.

“Both of us had great careers in Miami. Both of us are in the Hall of Fame in Miami. Both of our careers ended because of multiple knee surgeries. Both of us, after playing football, are getting an education. Both of us have gone to the Super Bowl multiple times. Unfortunately, both of us lost to Tom Brady,” McCullough said.

McCullough credits his story to God.

“A story for God’s Glory,” McCullough wrote on X.

A story for God’s Glory🙏🏽👏🏾 https://t.co/skJbQJdpod

— Deland McCullough (@coachdmc) October 28, 2025

McCullough took his story and turned it into a novel, “Runs in the Family: An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging.”

“After making the transition from professional player to respected coach, Deland’s longing to understand his origins intensified, driven by a desire to fill out his family medical history and piece together the fragmented parts of his identity. The search that ensued led to a life-altering discovery, an examination of family in all its forms, and an exploration of all the ways we inherit, learn, and disrupt generational trauma,” a synopsis of the book reads.

Smith and McCullough went from a coach and player relationship to a father and son relationship. As it turned out, Smith is McCullough’s biological father.

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