It’s a story almost too unbelievable to be true. If you presented Hollywood producers with a script, they’d turn it away for being too unrealistic.

Deland McCullough, a former NFL player turned coach, uncovered a life-changing secret: his college mentor and father figure, Sherman Smith, was actually his biological dad.

The revelation, which came after a search process that began when McCollough became a father himself, highlights the extraordinary parallels in their lives and careers, turning an already special coach-player bond into a profound father-son relationship.

McCullough, now 52, was raised by his adoptive mother, Adelle. As a talented high school athlete, he first crossed paths with Smith at age 16.

Smith, who was the running backs coach at Miami (OH), had recruited McCollough to play for the RedHawks. As part of his recruitment process, he impressed upon players that he would be more than just a coach they could look to only for support on the gridiron.

“The statement I would make to the players as I coached them [was], ‘You may not be looking for a father, but I’m going to treat you like my son,'” Smith recalled in an interview with Today.

How prophetic those words would be.

Deland McCullough finds out who his real Dad is

Deland McCullough thrived under Smith’s guidance at Miami University, where he excelled as a running back. He went on to a brief stint in the NFL, but a knee injury cut his playing days short, leading him to coaching.

Meanwhile, Smith continued his coaching journey, eventually retiring from the Seahawks in 2017.

Over the years, McCullough built his own family, becoming a husband and father of four sons, three of whom played football. It wasn’t until later in life that McCullough decided to dig into his origins.

@todayshow When Deland McCullough, now the running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders, went on the search for his biological father, he found him much closer than anyone could’ve imagined: former Raiders player Sherman Smith — Deland's lifelong mentor, friend and role model. NBC’s Kathy Park reports for TODAY on their surprise connection. #TODAYShow ♬ original sound – TODAY Show

After obtaining adoption records and meeting his birth mother, who lived just a few minutes away, he received the stunning news: Sherman Smith was his biological father.

“So I said, ‘Well shoot, who’s my dad, you know?” he recalled asking his birth mother. “And she said, ‘Your dad is a man named Sherman Smith.’”

Their first meeting—not as coach and player, but as father and son—was incredible.

McCullough said Smith “opened the door and he just opened his arms and said, ‘My son.'”

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Story being made into a movie

Describing the moment as “divine intervention,” Smith reflected in the Today interview on learning that Deland McCullough was his actual son.

“There’s no way to write this … you just have to believe this is God,” Smith said.

Sometimes, yeah, it’s the only explanation.

The discovery also amplified the eerie similarities between McCullough and Smith.

“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,” Deland explained.

“Both of us go to the Super Bowl multiple times, and unfortunately, both of us lose to Tom Brady.”

Remarkably, though, they both won a Super Bowl as running backs coaches; McCullough with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, and Smith with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014.

That said, somebody did decide to write about the incredible story—Deland. The book is titled Runs In The Family: An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging.

The movie, according to Today, is being considered for movie production.

“I want Denzel Washington to play my part,” Smith joked. “I’m putting it out there, Denzel. I want you to know that.”

The story of Deland McCullough and Sherman Smith proves that sometimes, the people who shape us are connected in ways we never imagined.