Duce Staley (born February 27, 1975) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach and former player who is the assistant head coach and

running backs coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). He previously served in the same capacity with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

during the 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons, and with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

in various assistant coaching roles from 2011 to 2020. Staley played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

, and during his playing career was best known for his tenure with the Eagles. Subsequently, he was a player with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

when they won

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

. Following the end of his playing career, Staley began his coaching career as a special teams quality control coach in 2011. He was promoted to the running backs coach in 2013 and given an additional role as assistant head coach in 2018. Staley was a coach with the Eagles when they won

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles defeated the American Football Conferen ...

against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early years

Staley attended Airport High School in

West Columbia, South Carolina West Columbia, formerly Brookland, is a city and commuter town in the suburban eastern sections of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was 14,988, and the 2019 population estimate was 17,99 ...

and was an All-State wide receiver, and played running back sparingly.

Playing career

College

As a senior at the University of South Carolina in 1996, Staley was ranked 13th in the nation in rushing with 1,116 rushing yards. In his collegiate career at South Carolina, Staley attempted 345 rushes for 1,852 yards (5.4 yards per carry). He also caught 59 passes for 489 yards and two touchdowns.

National Football League

Philadelphia Eagles

Staley was drafted by the

in the

and played for the Eagles through the 2003 season. After his rookie season and the departure of

Ricky Watters Richard James Watters (born April 7, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). Watters play ...

, Staley became the starter in a tumultuous 3–13 season which led to the dismissal of head coach

Ray Rhodes Raymond Earl Rhodes (born October 20, 1950) is a former American football player and coach. Rhodes played wide receiver and cornerback for the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. He served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles an ...

. Under

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

, Staley developed into the team's perennial leading receiver through Reid's screen-heavy West Coast offense. However, he played in only five games of the 2000 season due to a serious

Lisfranc fracture A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecologi ...

. Staley also missed some playing time in 2001 due to a shoulder injury. Entering the 2003 season, Staley held out of training camp in an attempt to bargain for a new contract, as he was in the last year of his deal. With Correll Buckhalter coming back from a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formati ...

(ACL) and

Brian Westbrook Brian Collins Westbrook (born September 2, 1979) is a former American football running back who played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft ...

entering his second season, the Eagles decided not to budge. This resulted in shared playing time among the three, as Westbrook became the premier back by season's end. They were known as the "Three-Headed Monster". Consequently, the Eagles decided to not re-sign Staley.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Staley signed a five-year, $14 million contract with the

on March 9, 2004. Staley had rooted for the Steelers when he was growing up. He instantly became the number one running back for his new team, and was seen as the eventual heir apparent for

Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" for his large size and runn ...

, who at the time had the sixth-most career rushing yards in NFL history. Staley played in 10 games in 2004, and rushed for 830 yards. He only scored one touchdown however, as Bettis took most goal-line carries, and eventually took over the starting job since Staley missed six games. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

, after both he and Bettis were injured, Willie Parker, an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

, had a stellar season, and Staley, in another injury plagued season, was dropped to third-string, managing only 148 yards in five games, with a 3.9 yard per carry average. The Steelers went on to win

, giving Staley his first ever championship. Staley played just one snap in the Steelers' 2006 season-opening win against the Dolphins. The Steelers signed former Packers' running back Najeh Davenport the next day, and deactivated Staley for the rest of the season. On December 3, 2006, the Steelers released Staley. In his three-year tenure with the team, Staley played in just 16 games.

Retirement

Staley officially retired as an Eagle during the Eagles-Giants game on December 9, 2007. At halftime, Staley was escorted onto the field by former teammates for his retirement celebration featuring a brief ceremony and two highlight videos.

NFL statistics

Coaching career

Philadelphia Eagles

Staley became a coaching intern for the

during the 2010 offseason. On February 8, 2011, Staley was promoted to special teams quality control coach. After the departure of

, Staley remained on the new staff with

Chip Kelly Charles Edward Kelly (born November 25, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the UCLA Bruins. He came to prominence as the head coach of the Oregon Ducks from 2009 to 2012, whom he led to four consecutive BCS bowl ga ...

and was promoted to the team's running backs coach. Kelly was fired as the team's head coach in December 2015 and Staley was interviewed for the vacant head coaching job in January 2016. Staley was retained as the team's running backs coach by new head coach

Doug Pederson Douglas Irvin Pederson (born January 31, 1968) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Pederson spent most of his 13-season playing career ...

on January 20, 2016. On February 4, 2018, Staley won his first

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the gam ...

as a coach, and second overall, as the Eagles defeated the Patriots, 41–33, in

. On February 20, 2018, Staley was promoted to assistant head coach while maintaining his running backs coach position. On August 2, 2020, Eagles head coach

was diagnosed with

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

during training camp. He planned to communicate with the team virtually during his

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

, and he relinquished day-to-day head coaching duties to Staley in the interim. Pederson returned to the team on August 12. The "Duce Staley drill", a practice drill that Staley created to enhance players' footwork, was added to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...

in 2020.

Detroit Lions

On January 25, 2021, Staley was hired by the

as their assistant head coach and running backs coach under head coach Dan Campbell.

Carolina Panthers

On February 1, 2023, Staley joined new head coach

Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich Jr. (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Maryland a ...

and the

as the running backs coach and assistant head coach positions.

Personal life

Staley is married to Maria Steadman, with three daughters and four sons. He is a native of

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the cit ...

, which is where he resides during the offseason. He underwent an innovative rehabilitation period prior to the 2001 season to become the first skill position NFL player known to return from a

Lisfranc injury A Lisfranc injury, also known as Lisfranc fracture, is an injury of the foot in which one or more of the metatarsal bones are displaced from the tarsus. The injury is named after Jacques Lisfranc de St. Martin, a French surgeon and gynecolog ...

. He annually holds The Duce Staley Football Camp at

West Chester University West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...

, which benefits several charities, including First Steps Program in South Carolina, the Variety Club, and Direct Care for Kids. He launched the Catch 22 Foundation to help single mothers. He donated $25,000 to South Carolina Governor

Jim Hodges James Hovis Hodges (born November 19, 1956) is an American businessman, attorney, and politician who served as the 114th governor of South Carolina from 1999 to 2003. Since his victory in 1998, Hodges has remained the only Democrat elected t ...

First Steps early childhood education program in 1999 to help improve education in the state. His son, Damani, plays linebacker for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staley, Duce 1975 births Living people American football running backs Itawamba Indians football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Philadelphia Eagles players South Carolina Gamecocks football players Philadelphia Eagles coaches People from West Columbia, South Carolina Detroit Lions coaches African-American coaches of American football African-American players of American football 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople Ed Block Courage Award recipients Carolina Panthers coaches