New OU RB coach Deland McCullough has such an unbelievable story it was worthy of a movie and book

Although Oklahoma fans likely initially researched what Deland McCullough had accomplished as a coach when news broke he would replace DeMarco Murray as the Sooners' new running backs coach, there is even more to learn about McCullough off the field.

McCullough has such an imaginable life story that it led him to write a book with sports journalist Sarah Spain titled, 'Runs in the Family,' which was released last summer. His story was also featured in the 2021 Christian documentary film, Show Me the Father.

Deland McCullough released a book, 'Runs in the Family,' in 2025

Before a 15-year coaching career that ultimately led to Oklahoma, and even long before football at all, McCullough was adopted as a newborn, so in the midst of his coaching career in 2017, he started searching for his biological family that he never knew. McCullough then amazingly discovered that he actually already knew his biological father and the man was already a father figure to him.

Born as Jon Briggs to a teenage mother in Pittsburgh, McCullough was adopted and had his name changed before being raised in Ohio. McCullough ended up at Miami (OH) to play running back before a brief pro career that included stops with the Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers. At Miami, McCullough's position coach was former NFL running back Sherman Smith, who developed into a mentor for McCullough. Then nearly 20 years later, McCullough learned that Smith was his biological father.

"My dad – who was my coach that I didn't know was my 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,'" McCullough told Raiders.com last year. "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."

McCullough started sharing his unbelievable story and that eventually led to writing his book that features the story of finding his biological father, as well as stories from his coaching career, including winning a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020. He co-authored the book with Spain, who previously wrote a viral story about McCullough for ESPN.

McCullough's experience was also featured in Show Me the Father, which included five different true stories about fatherhood, and has been told by various national media outlets.

Today, McCullough is a father himself with four sons, including two who played for the Sooners. That connection and his relationship with OU offensive analyst Kevin Wilson, who he served under as Indiana's running backs coach for six years, ultimately lured McCullough to Oklahoma.

"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," McCullough told Raiders.com.