Seventeen years and 289 career games is a long time to be in one place. It’s an even longer time when that place refuses to promote you. Be sure Duce Staley circled the Eagles-Lions matchup in Week 8 on his calendar back when the schedule came out.
Staley would never admit it, but it’s hard to believe he doesn’t have any hard feelings towards the Philadelphia Eagles’ organization. They passed Staley over twice for the offensive coordinator job, then chose Nick Sirianni over him this past offseason.
Team owner Jeffrey Lurie said Staley was “like a son to me” prior to introducing Sirianni as his next head coach. So Staley asked out of his Eagles’ contract and joined the Detroit Lions as assistant head coach and running backs coach.
“Duce is somebody very special to me. He’s been a terrific player, coach, leader for us. He’ll always be a Philadelphia Eagle,” Lurie said on January 29. “He and I talked well into the night the other night. I love the man. I just believe, I think he believes, that it’s best for his goal of being a head coach in the league to work for another organization for a while and set himself up the way many of the candidates have.”
Now, as Staley gets set to face his former team, the emotions from that breakup should all come rushing back. Or not. The man ranked fifth on the Eagles’ all-time rushing list told Detroit reporters that he had moved on. Those “good memories” are stored in the bank.
“I think I’m past the emotion part of it,” Staley said, via Michigan Live. “Of course, we’re going to war, and that’s how I see it. Of course, had a lot of great memories there, both as a player and as a coach. So when you play the team that drafted you, you played for them and going back coaching, it’s a lot of memories.”
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Philly Columnist Defends ‘Football Genius’
The Inquirer’s Marcus Hayes wrote an inflammatory column where he calls out Lurie for not hiring Staley. Eagles players were actively rooting for Staley to be the next head coach, including one calling him a “football genius.” Instead, the organization charted a future course with Sirianni.
And it hasn’t been going well through seven games as Philadelphia sits at 2-5 while visions of flowers poking up through the soil dance in people’s heads. Hayes wrote the following:
Staley is the running backs coach and assistant head coach at Detroit, where Lurie and the Eagles travel for Sunday’s game.
Expect cordiality. Maybe even a hug. After all, Lurie said Staley was “like a son” to him — but not familial enough to entrust Staley with the job Staley coveted for a decade. Duce knew. When Lurie introduced Sirianni as head coach, Lurie admitted that he believed Duce left his home here for a better chance to become a head coach.
According to Hayes, Staley was a “token interview” during Eagles’ head-coaching searches in 2013, 2016 and 2021. He could have stayed in Philly as an assistant on Sirianni’s staff but opted out of his contract to pursue his dreams elsewhere.
Dan Campbell Priming Staley for Head Coach
Staley remains undeterred in his quest to become a head coach in the NFL. He played the part for two weeks last season when Doug Pederson landed on the COVID-19 list. In Detroit, head coach Dan Campbell has committed himself to preparing Staley for that next step. He lets Staley break the Lions down on gameday and install offensive plays. He’s been heaping more and more responsibility on his plate, including administrative stuff like doling out player fines.
“He’s been a real asset for me, man. He does a lot of things I don’t even see or need to see,” Campbell told reporters, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “He stomps out a lot of fires, that’s a part of it too.”
Campbell intends to have Staley on track to wear the lead headset whenever that opportunity arises.
“He’s going to be primed and ready to be a head coach when it’s all said and done,” Campbell said. “All his bases are going to be covered.”
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