Longtime Eagles assistant and fan favorite, Duce Staley, has asked for the termination of his contract to pursue other opportunities, according to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Staley, 45, was recently dismissed as the Eagles’ senior coach for the second time in the past six years.
This seems to be the best decision for both sides.
Staley has been on the Eagles coaching staff for more than a decade, after becoming an intern with Andy Reid in the summer of 2010. He has trained with three different coaches in the past decade. But it is very clear that there is no chance of growth within the organization that called him in the third round in 1997.
It’s time for Duce to move on.
Staley looked like a real candidate for the position of head coach this off-season, and owner Jeff Lurie even mentioned his name without being asked after Doug Pederson was fired. But instead, the Eagles have hired Colts’ offensive coordinator, Nick Sirianni, and are already quickly assembling their first coaching staff. It will not include Staley, who became assistant chief coach in 2018.
The Bears recently showed some interest in Staley and there are likely to be more teams that will call. Staley has been an excellent running back trainer since 2013. It was a wise decision for the Eagles to keep Staley in 2016.
In fact, Staley was a quality control guy under Andy Reid and was not promoted to running back coach until Chip Kelly arrived in 2013. Under Staley, LeSean McCoy had some of his best seasons, Miles Sanders had a great start on his career and Staley managed egos on that 2017 team on their way to a Super Bowl title.
Before becoming a coach, Staley had a very good NFL career with the Eagles and Steelers. He became a fan favorite at Philly and ranks fifth in the history of the Eagles in racing yards. His career in the NFL made him known to the players he coached.
Among the players in the locker room, Staley was clearly the favorite choice to be the next Eagles coach, but the organization went in a different direction.
And now it’s time for Duce to move on and go up like he never was able to do in Philadelphia.
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