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Football is one of America’s favorite professional sports, and Raiders’ Running Back Coach Deland McCullough has been in the headlines recently, though not for his knowledge of the game. The former NFL star-turned coach has a dramatic story for the record books – and it involves his adoption and the surprising discovery of the identity of his biological father.
When Deland McCullough set out on a search to find out who his birth father was, he found him much closer than anyone could have ever anticipated. As it has been made clear in headlines, Deland’s birth father turned out to be one of his long-time coaches. It was the man who had already considered him, like many of his players, like a son. This is the incredible Deland McCullough adoption story.
The Kickoff
Deland Scott McCullough was born Jon Kenneth Briggs on December 1, 1972, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His birth mother, a single young woman named Carol Briggs, made the difficult and loving decision to place him for adoption at birth. She made this decision as a teenager, in the hopes that he would be raised in a stable, two-parent household.
The baby was 6 weeks old when he was adopted and renamed by Adelle Comer and A.C. McCullough. The two-parent household would not last, however, as A.C. and Adelle separated when Deland was two years old.
Growing up, Deland kept his questions about his birth parents to himself, noticing his single adoptive mom’s stress.
“There was so much going on in my surroundings,” Deland told ESPN. “My adoptive mom was doing the best she [could]. The last thing I wanted to do was add to it by saying, ‘Hey, I know we can’t pay our light bill. We can’t pay our phone bill, but we need to go and search for my biological [parents].’ I didn’t care.”
His desire to find his birth parents came later in life, after having children of his own.
“It really hit me more as I started having children myself and having to answer four times what’s your family history,” Deland explained. “I [had] no answers.”
A Turnover
As a teenager, football became Deland’s passion. In playing the sport, he found a mentor – former NFL player-turned-coach Sherman Smith. As a senior playing for Campbell Memorial High School, Deland got a visit from Sherman, who was the running-backs coach at Miami University. Sherman visited with the intention of recruiting Deland into the program.
Deland and Sherman formed a connection right away. Little did they know how deep that connection would turn out to be.
When his professional football-playing years were cut short – due to a catastrophic knee injury – Deland turned to his coach and mentor for advice.
“And we just had a great conversation,” Deland explained to TODAY, “’This is just a setback,’ you know, ‘for a great comeback.’”
Deland credits his adoptive mother for raising him well and supporting him throughout his life. After he was married with children of his own, he decided to find his birth parents.
His birth mother, as it turned out, was only ten minutes away. When they met, he asked her about his birth father.
“I said, ‘Well, shoot, who is my dad?’ And she said, ‘Your dad is a man named Sherman Smith.’”
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Parallels and Connections
After learning that Deland’s lifelong mentor, role model, coach, and friend was, in fact, his birth father, he went to visit his dad. He recalled their first meeting as father and son, saying:
“He opened the door, and he just opened his arms; he said, ‘My son!’”
Sherman remembers knowing Carol Briggs – Sherman’s birth mother – as a teenager, but he never knew that she had given birth to their child. After learning that his birth son was someone he had already felt connected to like a son, he described the situation as “divine.”
“There’s no way you could write this…all these connections. You just have to believe this is God directing our steps,” Sherman said.
The two men have reflected on their parallels and connection. Both grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, played at Miami (Ohio) and played in the NFL, and both worked under Raiders Coach, Pete Carroll.
“Both of us had great careers at Miami, both of us in the Hall of Fame at Miami, both of us go on to play professional, both of our careers end cause of knee surgeries – multiple knee surgeries. Both of us, after playing football, get into education. Both of us go to the Super Bowl multiple times,” Deland said. “And, unfortunately, both of us lost to Tom Brady!” he added with a laugh.
Life Lessons Off the Field
Before learning that Sherman was his father, Deland took inspiration from his mentor’s approach to coaching, explaining to Raiders.com:
“My dad – who was my coach but I didn’t know was my biological dad – one thing he said that encompassed it all, he would always tell his players, ‘You may not be looking for a father, but I’m going to treat you like you’re my son.’ Here I am, I get into coaching. I wasn’t following what Sherman Smith was doing, I just ended up in coaching and that was my coaching philosophy.”
With four sons of his own – and countless players he has treated as his own children – Deland recalled that sharing his story was difficult at first. He has described himself as an introvert, despite his career in the spotlight. He took to writing and found it to be a “therapeutic” experience. Co-authored by Sarah Span, he released his story in a book: “Runs in the Family.”
Deland’s main hope for the book is to inspire other men to seek out opportunities to be father figures – whether it is to their birth children or not.
“There’s other people, and the book chronicles it, who had very bad father figures of violence and other different things like that who gave me the opposite of what I wanted to see or what I wanted to be,” Deland shared. “I know that was something that I needed in my life growing up… When I got the opportunity to be a father, I was going to make sure my sons never questioned those things that I questioned growing up as far as an in-house father and the same thing for my players.
“Legacy isn’t something that’s passed on after you die. It’s something you build while you’re living.”
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The story of Deland and Sherman has certainly had an impact – earning headlines across the media and even public comments to the press from former colleagues.
“It was just kind of spooky,” Coach Caroll has said of the two men’s unique story. “It makes me chuckle all the time. I see [it in] the looks; I see it in the mannerisms. It’s just a magnificent story.”
This magnificent story may be inspiring for anyone interested in adoption. Whether you are hoping to adopt a child or are considering placing your baby for adoption, you may be touched by this incredible tale.
If you would like to learn more about adoption, reach out to Adoptions With Love today. We can walk you through the adoption process and guide you every step of the way. Call 617-964-4357, text (confidentially) 617-777-0072, or contact us online.