Future bright for Eagles’ Staley
Longtime assistant might get step up
“You always want to climb the ladder, but that doesn’t mean I’m chasing it. But I’m ready for that step.” Duce Staley Philadelphia Eagles running backs coach
Duce Staley liked his life after his playing career. Coaching youth football and working in radio kept him connected to the game he loved on two opposite ends of the spectrum.
The knowledge gained from 10 years in the NFL helped make him an insightful analyst. And teaching young athletes gave him a special, nostalgic joy.
“I just saw how much fun those little guys were having,” the former running back said. “And I saw myself all over again: being that little guy, doing Oklahoma drills, having the helmet that was too big and the shoulder pads that were too big and all up here, boiling his mouthpiece too long and now it’s sticking out here. So I saw it all over again and I loved it, so that’s what motivated me.”
But then in 2011, Andy Reid — who coached Staley in Philadelphia for five years — called with a unique opportunity. Reid wanted him to enroll in the NFL’s minority coaching fellowship and with the Eagles running backs, particularly LeSean McCoy, for the preseason.
Staley impressed so much in the role that Reid then added him to Philadelphia’s coaching staff as an entry-level offensive/special teams quality control assistant.
Seven seasons later, Staley remains with the Eagles, serving as running backs coach the past five seasons while surviving two head coaching changes.
The stakes are higher on this level, but Staley still can’t help but see himself in his pupils.
“Watching them in games, man, I get my knees shaking,” he said. “I see them and I’m like, ‘No! Left! Pick ’em up!’ And then I’ve gotta get back in coach mode when they come back to the sideline and explain, ‘ This guy is trying to do this to you, that guy was trying to do that to you. Oh, and by the way, pick your feet up, man! Pick ’em up — stiff-arm, man.’ ”
Head coach Doug Pederson notes that Staley’s ability to see the game as a player has been a crucial part of his value as a teacher.
“He’s been a big asset,” Pederson said of Staley. “He’s smart and understands not only runs — the run lanes — but he also understands protections, and that’s something when we have young guys … he’s been able to break it down and teach it so they understand it.
“A running back coach position takes a special coach. I don’t think just anybody can do that. You have to have a way about yourself, you’ve got to be able to communicate with different personalities in that room, and we’ve got a couple of starters in that room, and he’s really been able to shape them and mold them, and buy in, and each of them has a role.”
The results speak for themselves. In 2017, the Eagles used six different running backs, and all made meaningful contributions for the third-ranked rushing attack in the NFL. That production helped Philadelphia overcome the season-ending injury of quarterback Carson Wentz in Week 14.
In the Super Bowl, the Eagles ground game gashed the Patriots defense for 164 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries.
There’s a chance Staley could have coached his last game with the new champions.
He’s currently in the running for the New York Giants offensive coordinator position — a move that would reunite him with Pat Shurmur, the Eagles tight ends coach when Staley played for Philly and offensive coordinator whom Staley worked under during Kelly’s tenure.
However, it’s possible that Staley could remain with the Eagles while receiving a promotion to offensive coordinator now that Frank Reich has accepted the head coaching position in Indianapolis. Staley is believed to rank among the leading in-house candidates for the job, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the coaching staff.
If Staley does indeed land either coordinator gig, it would put him in rare company.
There’s currently only one African-- American offensive coordinator in the league: the Kansas City Chiefs recently promoted Eric Bieniemy, another former teammate of Staley’s and a protégé of Reid.
And NFL teams scarcely glean from the running backs coach ranks to fill offensive coordinator positions. Of the 29 currently filled offensive coordinator positions, 21 of the coaches previously worked with quarterbacks.
Bieniemy’s promotion gives Staley hope.
“As long as one of us got it, then all of us got it,” he said. “Like with Bieniemy, I’m a product of him, we’re a product of each other. He’s a brother of mine.”
The path of Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson, who has coached a variety of positions before being afforded opportunities as a coordinator and head coach, offers a key lesson in how to earn a top job.
“If you have those ambitions and you don’t think it’s going to happen for you and you want to expedite the process, as a running backs coach, then you’ve got to try to become a quarterbacks coach,” Staley said. “And then you’ve got to try to become a coordinator.
“There are ways. You just have to move if that’s your ultimate goal, if you’re chasing it. I’m not chasing it.” Instead, Staley aims for balance. The Giants offensive coordinator rumors started to swirl during Super Bowl week, and at the time Staley said, “I’ve got blinders on, focused on this Super Bowl,” but he did acknowledge intrigue over a potential opportunity with Shurmur and the Giants if it were to materialize.
He later offered, “You always want to climb the ladder, but that doesn’t mean I’m chasing it. But I’m ready for that step.”
Staley’s players agree with his selfevaluation.
“You always see him drawing up plays and looking at things in a different light. His brain is always working,” Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount said. “He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had in my entire career.
“Hope he gets the opportunity to move up and become a head coach someday. He’ll be great.”