Staley says he doesn’t feel overlooked in coaching hierarchy
Duce Staley played seven of his 10 NFL seasons with the Eagles, who took him off the board in the third round of the 1997 draft.
Pandemic willing, Staley will get on the field this fall for his 10th season as a coach with the Eagles.
If anybody had a right to stomp his feet and question why the Eagles didn’t make him the offensive coordinator after firing Mike Groh, it was Staley. The Eagles hired offensive assistant Rich Scangarello, who was canned by Denver and added passing game coordinator to the title of quarterbacks coach Press Taylor.
Staley had paid his dues. The assistant head coach/ running backs coach deserved better.
“I’m not disappointed at all,” Staley said on a Zoom call. “I don’t feel overlooked. I think it was about two years ago when I said it’s a little different here with the Eagles. What I mean by that is we all get a chance to game-plan. So, that’s what’s unique about our staff. We all have input in the whole game plan together. We’re not about titles. We’re just about getting the job done. And that’s what we’ve been doing around here for a while.”
Roughly 70 percent of the players in the NFL are black. Yet there are just four minority head coaches in the league: Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Anthony Lynn of the San Diego Chargers, Brian
Flores of the Miami Dolphins and Ron Rivera of Washington. There are just two black general managers, Andrew Barry of the Cleveland Browns and Chris Grier of the Dolphins.
Staley has interviewed for head coaching jobs, including the post the Eagles gave to Doug Pederson. For now he’s content to let the NFL and entities like the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which advocates for coaches of color, be the vehicles of change.
Offensive coordinator and head coach are titles that appeal to Staley.
“We all want to advance, that’s life,” Staley said. “But right now I’m super-happy in my role, proud of my role being assistant head coach, running backs coach, proud of that. Doug gives me things. He puts it on my plate. I’m thankful for him for having those opportunities. So, I’m excited about where I am and what I’m doing now.”
When Staley isn’t reminding himself or colleagues to wear a mask or follow protocols — even the bathroom visits are in play at the NovaCare Complex — he’s scheming up ways to use running backs Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Corey Clement.
Sanders had a stellar, if not spectacular rookie season, the second-round pick out of Penn State rushing for 818 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the season with 229 touches for 1,327 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per chance. He averaged 4.6 yards per rush, 10.2 per catch and caught three TD passes.
Unless Sanders gets hurt, his workload will increase. No every-down Eagles player is more explosive.