Longce Eagles assistant and fan favorite Duce Staley has asked out of his contract to pursue other opportunities, according to John Clark, NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Staley, 45, was recently named to the Eagles’ head coaching job for the second time in 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 joining Andy Reid as an intern in the summer of 2010. He has coached under three different head coaches over the past decade. But it is quite clear that there is no chance of growth in the organization that drafted him in the third round in 1997.
It’s just time for Duce to move on.
Staley looked like a real candidate for the head coach position after the off-season, and owner Jeff Lurie even made his name unasked after Doug Pederson was fired. But instead, the Eagles have hired Colts attacking coordinator Nick Sirianni and he is already putting together his first coaching staff. That doesn’t include Staley, who became the assistant head coach in 2018.
The Bears have shown some interest in Staley recently and there will probably be more teams to call. Staley has been fairly successful as a running coach since 2013. It was a wise decision for the Eagles to keep Staley in 2016.
In fact, Staley was a quality-controlled man under Andy Reid and was not promoted to full-back coach until Chip Kelly arrived in 2013. Under Staley, LeSean McCoy had some of his best seasons, and Miles Sanders had a great start to his career and Staley managed egos in that 2017 team on his 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 favorite in Philly and ranked fifth in Eagles history in a rush. His career in the NFL made him related to the players he coached.
Among the players in the locker room, Staley was clearly the favorite choice to be the Eagles’ next head coach, but the organization went in a different direction.
And now it’s time for Duce to move on and on like he never could in Philly.
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