Football coach Sherman Smith helped recruit Deland McCullough and quickly became a father figure in his life. Years later, the pair found out they were father and son. The duo shared their story during the Oct. 28 episode of NBC’s Today. McCullough, currently the running backs coach for the Las Vegas Raiders, decided to recount what happened in a book titled, Runs In The Family: An Incredible True Story of Football, Fatherhood, and Belonging. There’s a movie reportedly in the works as well.

Deland McCullough met Sherman Smith when he was 16 and trying out for Miami University

McCullough was raised by a single mother, Adelle Comer, who adopted him after being orphaned at birth, according to People. Growing up in Youngstown, Ohio, he decided to play football for Miami University. At 16, McCullough met Smith, who was the team’s running backs coach at the time, and quickly took him under his wing.

​​“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,’” Smith said on Today.

Smith played for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers for eight seasons before becoming a coach at Miami. After graduation, McCullough also pursued a professional career. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1996 but suffered a knee injury a year later, which ended his career. He was also a running backs coach for NFL teams, including the Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks.

McCullough went on to become a coach for Miami, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Raiders, according to E! Online. All the while, McCullough and Smith maintained their bond.

Deland McCullough set out to find the truth about his biological father

After McCullough got married and became a father, he decided to find his biological father. In 2017, he found through adoption records that his birth mother lived minutes away from him.

“So I said, ‘Well shoot, who’s my dad, you know?” McCullough said. “And she said, ‘Your dad is a man named Sherman Smith.’”

Smith met McCullough’s birth mother during their teenage years and never knew she had given birth to their child. Learning that they are related suddenly made sense.

“Both of us had great careers at Miami. Both of us (are) in the Hall of Fame at Miami,” McCullough said. “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.”

Both McCullough and Smith worked for the Seahawks, and Raiders head coach has Pete Carroll noted 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.