NFL star/coach Sherman Smith "Don't buy the lie"
Updated: Sep 22
This episode just oozes with wisdom from one of the most successful players and coaches in football. You'll hear how the game of football is just a small part of the impact Sherman Smith has on players. From High school to the NFL his unique slant on what it takes to be
successful is what makes his story so compelling. As a follower of Jesus he strives to walk the walk and let his actions speak. As he says. "It's not what I do, or say, IT'S WHO I AM, that matters most. You'll hear about the power of the team's FRIDAY MORNING DEVOTIONALS, why some players were depressed even shortly after a Super Bowl win, and the incredible miracle story that he shares in the Kendrick Brothers film: "SHOW ME THE FATHER". Episode 28 is one of my very favorites as I got to know Sherman TANK.
For the movie Trailer: https://youtu.be/Ao9IxgtRXyE
To stream the movie on Amazon Prime for $5.99: https://www.amazon.com/Show-Me-Father-Sherman-Smith/dp/B09HH6G6WN/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
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Listen to Sherman Smith's amazing story.
SHERMAN SMITH AT A GLANCE
Former Seattle Seahawks player and longtime NFL coach whose Christian faith shaped his identity, leadership, mentoring and approach to making a difference in the lives of others.
Topics
Seattle Seahawks · NFL · coaching · Christian faith · Ken Hutcherson · identity in Christ · mentoring · fatherhood · Deland McCullough · Show Me the Father · purpose
His Faith Journey
Church upbringing → searching for a faith that was more than religion → Ken Hutcherson’s example → receiving Christ in 1977 → learning his identity in Christ → using coaching and relationships to encourage others
This Episode Explores
Sherman Smith’s role in early Seattle Seahawks history
The Seahawks’ “God Squad” reputation
Ken Hutcherson’s influence on Sherman’s faith
Sherman’s conversion in Seattle in 1977
Why he chose teaching and coaching as his calling
His philosophy of coaching to make a difference
Friday devotionals with Seahawks players
His three family mantras: “Don’t Buy the Lie,” “Don’t Be the One” and “Don’t Be a Fool”
The discovery that Deland McCullough was his biological son
Finding grace and reconciliation through that unexpected discovery
Why football success cannot provide lasting identity or worth
The importance of knowing who you are in Christ
Questions Answered
Who is Sherman Smith?
When did Sherman Smith become a Christian?
Who was Ken Hutcherson?
How did Ken Hutcherson influence Sherman Smith?
What was the Seahawks “God Squad”?
Why did Sherman Smith become a coach?
What is Sherman Smith’s coaching philosophy?
What does “Don’t Buy the Lie” mean?
What does “Don’t Be the One” mean?
What does “Don’t Be a Fool” mean?
How did Sherman Smith discover Deland McCullough was his son?
What did Sherman learn from the Deland McCullough story?
What role does identity in Christ play in Sherman Smith’s life?
Core Story
Sherman Smith’s story moves from football to faith, coaching and unexpected fatherhood. After entering the NFL as one of the original Seattle Seahawks, Sherman encountered Ken Hutcherson, whose life demonstrated the reality of the Christian faith. Sherman eventually received Christ and came to understand his identity as a child of God. That identity shaped his coaching philosophy: treat players with respect, hold them accountable and make a difference in their lives. Decades later, discovering that former player and coach Deland McCullough was his biological son brought an extraordinary story of sin, grief, grace, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Sherman Smith: Football, Faith, Identity & the Power of a Godly Example
Amazing Greats with Ric Hansen
The Sherman “Tank” Smith Story
Ric Hansen:Well, hi there, and welcome to Amazing Greats. Today we talk with an NFL player who played the game at every level, then coached the game at every level, and brought a whole lot more to football than just how to run routes.
He definitely knew how to do that as well. In fact, he was the first offensive player picked by the new expansion team, the Seattle Seahawks, in 1976. He was called “Sherman Tank,” the legendary coach and player, running back, number 47—Sherman Smith.
We are privileged and proud to have one of the amazing great football giants of our time with us today. Sherman Smith is an icon in my hometown of Seattle. You were kind of at the bookends of what Seattle Seahawks history is all about. You were there at the beginning, and you were there for the Super Bowls. That's quite a legacy.
Sherman Smith:Well, man, it was a great career in Seattle, a great time living in the Pacific Northwest. Like I said, a lot of great memories, man. A lot of great memories.
The First Offensive Player Drafted by the Seahawks
Ric Hansen:Let's start from the get-go. You were the first offensive player picked for the new Seahawks franchise in 1976, correct? How did that feel—to know you were the guy they went to first?
Sherman Smith:Well, yeah, I never made that big. I never thought about it that way, you know? Knowing that year was the first year of the franchise, Steve Largent was our first-round draft pick, and I'm coming out of Miami of Ohio.
The fact that I got drafted as a wide receiver when I was a quarterback in college, and making that transition, I was just looking at it as being a part of a new group coming to the Northwest. We were trying to put a football team together and see if we could win some games.
Ric Hansen:And what a memorable and great crew—with Jim Zorn and Steve Largent.
Sherman Smith:Yeah, man. I was really blessed. I was telling a friend of mine last week that I was so blessed that, as I started my career, God allowed me to be around the type of guys that I really needed in my life.
The Jim Zorns, the Norm Evanses, Ken Hutcherson, Dave Brown, Steve Largent. God allowed me to be around some great guys who were important not only for my growth as a football player, but for my growth as a man, and particularly as a Christian.
The Seahawks “God Squad”
Ric Hansen:How did the Christianity thing integrate with that crew? It was interesting because the star players were all these great, godly men.
Sherman Smith:We would go to the Pro Athletes Outreach Conference that Norm Evans was part of. We would go down there, and they would tell us the Seahawks were referred to as the “God Squad.”
We had all these believers. The frontline players were believers and outspoken about their faith. People would say, “Yeah, man, we call you guys the God Squad.”
Ric Hansen:I didn't realize that. I knew you were the Tank, but I didn't know about the God Squad.
Sherman Smith:Yeah, man.
I was talking to Tony Dungy a few months ago, and he talked about that Seahawks team. He recognized how outspoken the guys were about their faith. He said that when he was in Pittsburgh, it impacted him as a player on the other side of the country.
Ric Hansen:And then there was almost a “God Squad returns” when you came back to the Seahawks later—with guys like Russell Wilson and a whole gang of outspoken Christians.
Sherman Smith:Yeah. It was fun being a part of that. When I came back in 2010 with Pete Carroll, that strong Christian influence was still there.
Then you start getting guys like Russell Wilson, who was outspoken about his faith. He's a quarterback, and you saw how it kept going. Guys kept growing in their faith and understanding the legacy of the team—the spiritual reputation of being outspoken and living the right way.
These guys gravitated to that and understood that there was a legacy they were trying to follow.
Ken Hutcherson: Sherman’s “Sycamore Tree”
Ric Hansen:That's kind of where you became a Christian, right? As a Seahawk at the very beginning, with Ken Hutcherson as your spiritual guide?
Sherman Smith:Oh, he was my—I tell him, going from Luke 19, he was my sycamore tree.
You know how Zacchaeus had to climb the sycamore tree to see Jesus? Hutch was my sycamore tree.
When I was a senior in college, people were talking to me about Christ and the difference He could make in my life. I'm a visual learner. People were saying it, but I was looking at their lives, and the only difference I saw between them and me was that they went to church a lot and I didn't. They went to Bible studies and I didn't.
They were telling me what Jesus could do for me, and I remember crying out one night, “Lord, I need somebody to show me. I need somebody to show me.”
When I got drafted by the Seahawks, I truly believe God's hand was in that.
I was sitting in the lunchroom up at Eastern Washington University, and this big Black guy walked by me. On the back of his T-shirt it said, “Hutch is going to Seattle to do God's battle.”
And I thought, “Man, I've come some 2,000 miles and I'm running into another so-called Christian.”
I know God put it on my mind and heart at that time: “You watch this guy.”
And Hutch was the guy. He showed me. He lived it.
When he blew his knee out in our last preseason game, he was in the locker room with ice packs on his knee and was told his career was over.
I walked in because I wanted to give him comfort and tell him everything was going to be all right.
He comforted me.
He encouraged me.
He smiled and said, “Sherman, I'm a Christian, and nothing happens in my life that's not filtered through God's hands first.”
Right there in that locker room, I asked him, “Please tell me more about Jesus Christ,” because I knew it had to be for real. You couldn't fake that—not during that time.
He shared the Gospel with me.
I didn't become a Christian at that exact moment, but when I did become a Christian, Hutch became my mentor. He became that guy who walked with me until the day God took him home on December 18, 2013.
He was the man God used to show me Christ.
Sherman’s Conversion
Ric Hansen:Was there a moment when you actually accepted the Lord as your Savior? An “aha, Jesus” moment?
Sherman Smith:Yeah. It happened right at the end of my rookie season.
I had hurt my knee and had to have some cartilage removed. It was a minor injury. My career wasn't over.
I remember coming out of the doctor's office at the corner of Broadway and Madison. I knew the confidence Hutch had when he blew his knee out and his career was over. But my career wasn't over, and yet I didn't have the confidence and hope that Hutch had.
I sat in my car—I think it was January 17, 1977—and I said:
“God, I don't know You, but I know what Hutch said about You. And I want You to come into my life. Make a difference in my life. Give me confidence and hope in someone other than myself.”
And I prayed to receive Christ.
I tell people, you know how Seattle is. It was overcast. All of a sudden the sun didn't break out or anything like that.
But I knew at that moment that something was different.
I had prayed to receive Christ, and my journey began.
From NFL Player to Teacher and Coach
Ric Hansen:That has been with you throughout your career—not only your playing career, but right up to today. It also played a key role in your coaching career.
You went from the NFL, in 1983, to Redmond Junior High School. How did that work with your psyche?
Sherman Smith:What's interesting is that playing professional football wasn't something I aspired or dreamed to do.
When I left Youngstown, Ohio, in 1972 and went to Miami of Ohio on a scholarship, I just wanted to be a high school teacher and coach.
That's why I went to college. I wanted to be a teacher and a coach.
We had a great career at Miami, and people said, “You might get a chance to get drafted.”
So I said, “Well, that's fine.”
When football was over, I was excited. I thought, “Now I get to do what I really wanted to do.”
I wanted to be a coach and a teacher.
I didn't stumble or hesitate. I went right to the Lake Washington School District and put in my application to become a teacher.
That's when it began.
Ric Hansen:And then you went to Redmond High School. Take us through the rest of that coaching journey.
Sherman Smith:For my five years there, I taught at Redmond Middle School, but I coached football at Redmond High School. At the middle school, I coached track and basketball.
I coached football at Redmond High School with Jim Sampson, who was a blessing in my life. God blessed me with a head coach who showed me that he loved the Lord and loved the kids.
I thought, “Man, this is great. This is what I want to do.”
I did that for five years.
At that point, I didn't want to go to college coaching at all. I just wanted to be a high school coach.
But a friend of mine got the head coaching job at Miami of Ohio, where I graduated. We were teammates, and he said, “Let's go back to our alma mater and see if we can go back to the great championship years that we had.”
So I left in 1990 and went back to Ohio.
I coached at Miami of Ohio for two years, then went to the University of Illinois for three years under Lou Tepper.
At Miami of Ohio, Randy Walker was our head coach and a teammate of mine. Then I went to Illinois, where Lou Tepper was the head coach. He was a strong believer, and I thank God for his influence on my life.
After that I went to the Houston Oilers. We moved to Tennessee, and I stayed with the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans for 13 years.
Then I went to Washington for two years with Jim Zorn, where we coached together.
I finished my last seven years in Seattle on Pete Carroll's staff.
Reconnecting with Jim Zorn
Ric Hansen:How was that reconnection with you and Jim Zorn?
Sherman Smith:It was a cool experience.
Those two years in D.C. were rough years, though. I wouldn't exchange that period for anything, as tough as it was, because I know God did some molding and shaping and strengthening of my faith.
It was a rough situation for Jim as well as for myself.
But working with Z-Man was a blessing—to have him as the head coach and have him allow me to do what I was comfortable doing, including speaking to the team.
It really was a blessing to spend those two years with him.
“I Coach to Make a Difference”
Ric Hansen:Tell us about your coaching style, because I know it's not the typical “here's how you run the routes” approach. It was a whole different experience to have Sherman Smith as your coach, with guys like Eddie George along the way.
What made you special?
Sherman Smith:I think it goes back to when I knew I wanted to be a coach.
I was sitting in the back of health class my junior year in high school, and I was watching my high school coach teaching the class.
Four years earlier, he had come to our high school when it was one of the losingest programs in the state of Ohio. He changed that program from the inside out.
He talked to us about having pride in yourself and pride in your school. He talked about how you look at yourself, because that impacts how you look at other people.
I saw the difference he made in the lives of our community and our players, and I remember saying to myself, “That's what I want to be.”
I wanted to be a coach because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of players and people.
God gave me my “why” in 1971, when I was a junior in high school.
Then God gave me the “how”—how to do it for Christ—when I became a Christian.
So when I started coaching, I said, “Man, I coach to make a difference.”
When Lou Tepper interviewed me at the University of Illinois, the first question he asked was, “Why do you coach? Do you coach to make a living or do you coach to make a difference?”
I knew where he was coming from, but that truly was my answer.
“I coach to make a difference in the lives of the players and people I come in contact with.”
Therefore, when I go out to coach, it's not what I do—it's who I am.
I had a statement: “The power of respect is to never disrespect.”
I said, “I'm never going to disrespect any of my players. I'm going to coach them the right way. I'm going to talk to them the way I'd want to be talked to, the way I'd want someone to talk to my son.”
When I started coaching at Redmond High School, I would tell my players:
“You may not be looking for a father, but I'm going to treat you like you're my sons.”
I looked at them like they were my sons. I was going to talk to them the right way and treat them the right way.
I would say, “As if your mom or dad were standing here”—and also knowing that if my God is looking at me, He would be glorified in the way I interact with you.
That didn't mean I didn't get after guys. I held them accountable. Sometimes I had to talk sternly to them.
But I talked to them the right way, in a manner where I knew I wouldn't be embarrassed, they wouldn't be embarrassed, and God wouldn't be embarrassed.
Living the Faith Instead of Preaching It
Ric Hansen:Was Jesus integrated into your coaching style? Did you talk about Him, or was it hands-off? Did you get any pushback?
Sherman Smith:It worked out really well.
One thing Hutch taught me was a saying—I don't know if it was original with him:
“What you do speaks so loud I can't hear a word you're saying.”
So I did my best to live the life in front of the players.
Not just talk.
I had enough of people telling me what Christ could do but not showing me.
So I said, “I'm going to try to be a sycamore tree the way Hutch was a sycamore tree for me.”
I lived the life in front of them.
Then they would give me permission to share.
If I was reading a book or something, I'd say, “Let me share something with you guys.”
They knew I was a Christian.
They would ask, “Coach, what do you think about this?” or “Coach, what does God's Word say about this?”
I told the guys, “As a Christian, it's not my job to save you or change you. That's not what I'm trying to do. I'm going to live the life in front of you. I'm going to encourage you if you're a believer, and encourage you if you're not. I'm walking this life too. I'm going to stumble and fall too.”
But I wanted them to know that my desire was to live to please God.
Friday Devotions with the Seahawks
Sherman Smith:Throughout my career, guys gave me permission to share with them.
I'll tell you a story that happened in Seattle.
On Fridays during game week, the day was a little different. Meetings were shorter and the day was shorter.
When the running backs would break up for our meeting, we would have a devotional in the room.
We had a room full of Christians—Justin Forsett, Leon Washington, and others who were believers. We would take turns sharing the Word.
At that time, Marshawn Lynch was in that group too.
Before we started our meeting, someone would do a 10- or 15-minute devotion.
Then Daryl Bevell said, “Sherman, you guys can't have your separate meeting. You need to stay with the rest of the team because there's some things I want to cover.”
That happened for about four or five weeks.
Probably around the third or fourth week, Marshawn Lynch came to me.
He always called me “Boss Man.”
He said, “Boss Man, when are we going to get back to having our time together?”
He said, “Man, I enjoyed that.”
Marshawn never said a word during those devotions.
But he was listening.
Discipling Players
Ric Hansen:Did you see some conversions along the way—guys who accepted Christ?
Sherman Smith:You saw guys accept Christ, but I think the big thing I saw was guys mature in their faith.
They began to understand what it meant to walk with Christ.
They had some of the false ideas I had too—just be a good guy. They didn't understand that it was about a relationship.
There was a lot of legalism.
Some people thought, “I can't be a godly man, so I'll just accept being sinful and ask for forgiveness.”
I would challenge my guys in their faith.
If I had a non-Christian player who was acting up, cussing, drinking, chasing women, I didn't want to just encourage him to stop those things.
Because if he stops doing those things but doesn't accept Jesus Christ, you've got a non-cussing, non-drinking, non-womanizing non-Christian.
I would tell guys, “You need Christ in your life. That's what makes the difference.”
A lot of people think you have to overcome sin to walk in the Spirit.
I would say, “No, you have to walk in the Spirit to overcome sin.”
So that's what I would share with my guys.
We have to walk in the Spirit to be what God wants us to be.
It was discipleship. That's what it was.
Three Mantras: “Don't Buy the Lie”
Ric Hansen:You've lived by some mantras that were instilled in you by your father and mother.
The first one is “Don't Buy the Lie.” Tell us about that.
Sherman Smith:That goes back to right before I had my revelation about what I wanted to do.
I was in my junior year of high school, and my dad asked, “What are you going to do when you graduate from high school?”
My dad was funny. He said, “You're going to do one of three things: you're going to go to college, you're going to get a job, or you're going to go into the armed forces. But you're not going to be living at home with us.”
So when you graduated from high school, you better have a plan.
I told my father my plan.
I said, “Dad, I want to work in the steel mill just like you did. I want to live in the apartment complex right down the street from you guys. And if I can just have a nice, dependable car so I can get to work and get around, that's it.”
My dad didn't like my plan.
Growing up in Youngstown during that time—the early 1970s, the civil rights movement—there was a lot happening.
There were people telling me I had no hope of doing anything because of the color of my skin.
And there were people within my own community who had lost hope and were telling me that going to college and doing all this other stuff wouldn't be possible.
My father saw that I had bought the lie.
He took me down by the apartment complex where I wanted to live.
When we got in the car, he said, “Don't say a word.”
We drove by the Kimmelbrooks.
He said, “Son, don't buy the lie.”
Then we drove by McGuffey Terrace.
“Son, don't buy the lie.”
Then we drove by Plaza View Apartments.
“Son, don't buy the lie that this is the only place where you can live.”
Then we drove out to Boardman, Ohio—the “vanilla suburbs,” as I called them. The high-rent district. Manicured lawns. Brick houses.
He said, “Don't buy the lie that one day you can't live in a house like this, in a neighborhood like this.”
Then we went down to the steel mill where my dad worked.
“Don't buy the lie that this is the only place where you can work.”
He said, “Don't buy the lie that you can't be a teacher, doctor, lawyer.”
He went through a whole lot of things he thought were possible for me.
And the last one he said—I will never forget this.
In 1971, with the climate of our country, he said:
“Son, don't buy the lie that one day you or another Black man can't be president of the United States.”
In 2008, when President Obama was elected, I was sitting in my family room in Virginia and started crying.
My dad had said that.
I was glad my dad lived to see that day.
Back in 1971, my father believed that our country was capable of that, and that I was capable of more.
He said, “Don't buy the lie that people are trying to tell you that you can't do stuff.”
That was my dad.
“Don't Be the One”
Ric Hansen:Your mom had one too. Your mom said, “Don't be the one.”
Sherman Smith:Yeah. “Don't be the one.”
I was getting ready to go to Miami University because I said I wanted to be a coach. Miami University was known as the “Cradle of Coaches.”
At that time, the school was 98.9% white. I knew I was going to be in the minority.
My mom told me, “Son, you're going to go to a school where people are going to say the only reason you're there is because of affirmative action or because you're on a scholarship.”
She said, “Don't be the one.”
She said there would be people who would say, “Not only can't you learn, you don't even want to learn.”
“Don't be the one.”
There would be people who would say, “Not only can't you get along with other people, you can't even get along with your own people.”
“Don't be the one.”
She said, “Don't you be the one they're talking about when they make that statement.”
“You're going to validate negative stereotypes or tear them down. You're going to make things better for those coming behind you, or you're going to make things worse.”
I understood then that going to college wasn't only a privilege. It was a responsibility.
She was telling me, “Don't be the one who becomes a stumbling block. Don't be the one who validates the negative stereotypes.”
Faith in Sherman’s Family
Ric Hansen:Did your mom and dad go to church?
Sherman Smith:Oh, yeah.
I give my mom and dad credit. They taught us what they knew.
What they knew was: go to church, be a good person.
We went to church. We weren't there every Sunday and Wednesday, but we wanted to be regular church attendees and be good people.
But I didn't know about a relationship with Christ until Hutch told me.
My mom and dad were good people. They raised us the best way they knew, to have a fear of God.
Later in life, after I became a believer, I shared with my mom and dad, and their faith grew because they now understood it was a personal relationship with Christ.
Ric Hansen:Did their spiritual life grow with yours?
Sherman Smith:Absolutely. We encouraged each other, no doubt about it.
“Don't Be a Fool”
Ric Hansen:The final mantra: “Don't Be a Fool.”
Sherman Smith:That was Hutch.
As I told you about the locker room, when I came in to encourage Hutch, he told me, “Sherman, I'm a Christian, and nothing happens in my life that's not filtered through God's hands first.”
Then he quoted Psalm 14:1:
“For the fool has said in his heart, there is no God.”
And he said to me:
“Don't be a fool.”
Then he shared the Gospel with me.
He said Jesus Christ came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ for the purpose of dying in our place to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could be declared not guilty in the court of heaven because the perfect righteousness of Christ is credited to those who believe.
He shared the Word with me.
That's where “Don't Be a Fool” came from.
Ric Hansen:So there they are:
Don't buy the lie.Don't be the one.Don't be a fool.
Show Me the Father
Ric Hansen:You've been a football player, you've been a coach for 33 years, and now you're kind of a movie star.
There's a documentary about your life story called Show Me the Father. Most people know the story of you and Deland McCullough, but I don't want to give away too much because I want people to stream the documentary.
All of us have a fatherhood story.
Sherman Smith:My dad was my hero growing up.
Voice from documentary:My father was somebody who disappointed you.
Another voice:To have my father proud was my sole purpose in playing football.
Sherman Smith:I want to make a difference in the lives of young people the way my father made a difference in my life.
Ric Hansen:The documentary also includes stories of fathers who were absent, fathers who disappointed their children, and people dealing with the wounds of their father relationships.
At the center is the question of what it means to experience the love of a perfect Father.
The story of you and Deland McCullough is a remarkable part of that.
The Deland McCullough Story
Sherman Smith:Deland is a guy I recruited when I was coaching at Miami of Ohio.
I recruited him, coached him for a year, then left for the University of Illinois. We stayed in contact.
He became a coach, and we continued talking. He came out to Seattle and did an internship with me, I believe the year after we won the Super Bowl.
We had a great relationship.
I retired, came back home, and received a call from Deland right before Thanksgiving in 2017.
I thought he was calling because he had a job offer and wanted to pick my brain.
That's not what he wanted to talk about.
He said, “Hey, I'm adopted.”
I said, “That's great.”
He said he had started looking for his biological parents.
He had gotten his original birth record and found his birth mother.
I was rejoicing for him.
Then he said, “Wait a minute. There's a little something else to this.”
He told me his biological mother's name.
When he said her name, my heart sank because I knew Carol. I knew her in a way that made it possible that I could be this guy's father.
Then he said, “I asked her who my father was, and she said, ‘You.’”
It was like a bomb going off.
Here I was with a 45-year-old son—a guy I had coached, a guy I had been around, a guy I knew well.
People had teased us that we looked alike, talked alike, walked alike.
I had paid no attention to it.
When Deland told me, I said, “I need to call you back. I need some time.”
I needed to process it.
A lot of people didn't understand that. They thought I was being cruel.
But Deland knew he had biological parents and was excited because he had found them.
Carol knew she had put a son up for adoption 45 years before. She was excited because this was an answer to prayer.
I was the only one who was surprised.
I didn't know I had a 45-year-old son.
It wasn't a moment of celebration for me. It was a moment of, “Wait a minute. What is going on?”
And I think I felt bad about being irresponsible when I was in high school.
I was so irresponsible that I fathered a child and didn't know about it.
This young man grew up not knowing who his dad was.
I knew who my father was and the difference he made in my life.
I hoped my own children could say the difference I made in their lives.
And I knew I was responsible for Deland not having that in his life.
I was grieving.
I was grieving over my sin.
I was grieving over my irresponsibility.
And I believe God wanted me to grieve before I could experience the joy of grace—the joy of this son I didn't know I had.
During the process of finding out and doing the DNA test, God allowed me to begin experiencing the joy of grace.
“This is my son.”
And we began from there.
“You Made a Difference in My Life”
Ric Hansen:You were his father before he even knew you were his father. You were fathering him like you did a lot of other people.
Sherman Smith:He was so gracious to me.
When he called and told me, he said, “First of all, I'm not mad at anybody.”
He said, “If you're not my father, that's great. We have a relationship. If you are my father, that's great. We'll build on our relationship.”
I apologized to him for not being there.
He said, “You don't know. You were in my life. You made a difference in my life.”
He said, “You just don't know how much of a difference you made in my life.”
That meant a lot.
Deland’s Coaching Career
Ric Hansen:You guys are still very close, and he's still coaching. He's in Tennessee, right?
Sherman Smith:No. He was coaching at Indiana University, and he just accepted a job as running backs coach at Notre Dame.
Ric Hansen:Is this breaking news?
Sherman Smith:No, it's news, but it's old news by now.
He's going to Notre Dame.
Faith and Professional Sports
Ric Hansen:The documentary is beautifully done by the Kendrick Brothers, and I encourage people to stream it.
I'm interested in your observations about something I've wondered about. It seems as though the percentage of Christians in professional sports may be higher than in the general public. Do you find that to be true, and if so, why?
Sherman Smith:When I came into the league in 1976, we were very outspoken about our faith in Seattle.
There were still a lot of people who looked down on you and said you were weak if you needed Jesus.
But people are more emboldened in their faith now. More people are willing to recognize that money doesn't save you.
Football is a career. It's how you make your living. It's not your life.
Every team I was with, there was a group of young men who found out you don't have to be ashamed to say you're a Christian.
You don't have to be ashamed to live for Christ.
Instead of people looking at you like there's something wrong with you because you're a Christian, we began saying, “There's something wrong if you're not a Christian.”
We're not ashamed of being in Christ.
We found guys saying, “There's nothing to be ashamed of if I want to be a godly man, a godly husband, a godly father.”
A chapel speaker once told us when we were in Tampa, “It's easier for me to talk to you guys about the need for Christ than it is to talk to my congregation.”
He said the congregation believed that if they could get what professional athletes had, that's what would make them happy.
But he could talk to the athletes because they already had the money and everything else and realized there was more to life.
When we won the Super Bowl in Seattle, we had players and coaches who became depressed afterward because they thought winning the Super Bowl was going to do something for them that it wasn't meant to do.
They thought, “I'm going to win the Super Bowl and my self-worth and self-esteem are going to change.”
A couple of days or weeks later, the high came down.
They realized, “I thought I was going to stay on that high forever.”
But that wasn't meant to enhance your self-worth.
It was a football game that we won.
Guys are understanding that what makes a difference in your life isn't the temporary stuff.
There's something more to life than playing football or basketball and making money.
The Super Bowl Ring
Ric Hansen:Speaking of the Super Bowl, I hope you noticed I had my cap on here.
Do you have your Super Bowl ring on?
Sherman Smith:No, I don't.
We got those rings in June of 2014 at our ring ceremony. I wore that ring for a week after we got it, and I haven't worn it since.
It's a big, nice, pretty ring, but I'm just not into that.
I took it somewhere once because somebody asked me to bring it so they could see it.
Other than that, I have it, but I don't wear it.
I didn't wear the NFC Championship ring the following year either, when we lost Super Bowl 49.
Seeing God at Work
Ric Hansen:Are there specific moments along your journey when you saw God showing off—being so alive and involved in what was going on that there was no mistake it was a God thing?
Your story with Deland is one of those. Is there something else you can pinpoint?
Sherman Smith:For me, when I look at the whole of my Christian walk, it was the people God put in my life.
I think God set me on a journey, and He knew the type of men and people I needed around me.
I was always surrounded by godly men who spoke into my life, challenged me, and held me accountable.
Honestly, those were the things that gave me the greatest assurance.
The Deland story shows how God directed my path.
I just wanted to be a high school coach, and I ended up coaching for 32 years—22 years in the NFL, Super Bowls, and all of that.
But God allowed me to impact the lives of all these men I've coached.
I hear from them today saying, “Coach, thanks a lot for the impact you had on my life.”
I see all of that as God saying, “I had a plan for you.”
It's like what God said to Jeremiah:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. I set you apart before you were born.”
I know God has work for me to do—work I didn't know I was going to do.
Coaching.
Speaking.
Sharing my faith.
Understanding who I am in Christ.
The Turning Point: “Don't You Know Who You Are?”
One of the biggest turning points in my Christian walk came when Ken Hutcherson came to me.
Part of my testimony is that, when I was seeking Christ, I had people telling me how to live for Christ, but they weren't living it.
When I became a Christian, I became that person.
I became the stumbling block.
I thought grace meant, “My sins are forgiven. I can go out and do what I want.”
Until one day Hutch came to my house.
He asked, “Can I ask you to do me a favor?”
I said, “Anything you want.”
He said, “I want you to stop telling people you're a Christian.”
He said, “Because you're making it tough on the rest of us who are trying to live for Christ.”
“Please stop telling people you're a Christian.”
“The name of Jesus Christ is being ridiculed because of you.”
I knew he was telling the truth.
Then he said the thing that got me.
He looked at me, and I could see anger and pain in his eyes.
He asked:
“Don't you know who you are?”
He began telling me who I was in Christ and how that was supposed to make a difference in how I lived.
That was the turning point.
Understanding my identity in Christ.
I was living under new management.
The Holy Spirit was indwelling me.
I was a child of God.
I had a new purpose.
I was created for good works.
I had new motivation.
The love of Christ compels me.
I had to understand my identity—who I was in Christ.
That became a turning point for me.
Tough Love from Ken Hutcherson
Ric Hansen:That was tough love from Hutch. To come to you and say, “You're the problem here.”
Sherman Smith:You're the problem.
That's why I love that guy.
Coming from him, I knew it was coming from a place of love.
I knew he loved me, but I knew he loved the Lord too.
He'd say, “Man, you're making my Daddy look bad.”
I love him for that.
I look at the love that Hutch had for me as an example of how I deal with young men today.
Love them right where they're at, but don't compromise.
I would go to Hutch and talk to him about my stuff.
He never condemned me, but he never condoned what I was doing.
He would give me the Word and encourage me in my walk.
That's what I do with people now.
When I talk to a young man—or whoever it is—about their life in Christ, I say, “I want to encourage you about this. I want to encourage you in something I see.”
I'm not coming to condemn you.
I'm coming to encourage you.
As God's Word says, let's consider how we can spur one another on to love and good deeds, encouraging each other all the more.
I want to encourage you in your walk.
Closing
Ric Hansen:Sherman, thank you so much for being with us today.
You've been a joy, and I know your story is going to resonate with our audience.
God bless you, and thank you so much.
Sherman Smith:Well, Rick, God bless you too, man. Keep up the good work.
Ric Hansen:All right.
Sherman Smith:Thanks a lot.
Ric Hansen:Bye-bye. Bye now.
Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Thanks for listening to Amazing Greats. I hope you'll share this episode with a friend. Hit like if you will, and subscribe. Your help in spreading the word is much appreciated.
This is Ric Hansen. Take care and God bless.
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