Duce Staley came to Detroit's coaching staff in 2021 in Dan Campbell's first season as head coach. Staley's impact was immediately felt on the running game, helping the Lions reach the most yards per carry (4.42) in a season since 1998, when the team averaged 4.43 yards per rush. Staley's presence left a noticeable mark on RB D'Andre Swift's development with the young running back making meaningful strides in his second season. Under Staley's tutelage in 2021, Swift became the first Lions running back since 2014 to produce 1,000 scrimmage yards in a season.
With Staley's oversight, Detroit's backfield and overall team rushing attack made many contributions to establish itself as a versatile threat. Staley's running back room finished fourth in the NFL with 106 receptions. Additionally, in 2021, Detroit was the only team in the NFL to have nine players record a rush of 20-or-more yards. Prior to the 2021 season, the last NFL team to accomplish the feat was the 1984 Chicago Bears.
After an accomplished 10-year career as a running back in the NFL, Duce Staley entered the coaching ranks in 2010 as a coaching intern with the Philadelphia Eagles. After his coaching internship, Staley was soon hired by then-Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid into a full-time role as a special teams quality control coach in 2011. From that time, Staley earned multiple promotions throughout his 10 seasons on the Eagles coaching staffs, and has built a reputation as a bright, young coach. After two seasons under Reid, Staley was elevated to oversee the running backs in 2013 by new Eagles Head Coach Chip Kelly, who retained Staley for his coaching staff.
In Staley's first season coaching running backs, the Eagles offense reached new heights, setting then franchise records in significant categories such as points, total net yards, touchdowns, passing yards and fewest turnovers. In 2014, apart from fewest turnovers, the Eagles offense went on to break each record respectively, with Staley's unit playing an integral role in the offense's explosiveness.
Staley's mentorship played a key role in the dominance of RB LeSean McCoy during his stint with the Eagles. In 2013, McCoy reached a career high in rushing yards (1,607) and earned first-team All-Pro and Pro-Bowl honors for the second time in his career. McCoy's 2013 success was stamped with him leading the NFL in rushing yards and scrimmage yards (2,146). Both McCoy's rushing yards and scrimmage yards in 2013 set Eagles records as he became the first Eagle since Steve Van Buren in 1947 to lead the League in both rushing and scrimmage yards. McCoy, on several occasions, has publicly attributed his career-best seasons to Staley's mentorship and coaching during their time together in Philadelphia. Under Staley's guidance in 2014, McCoy finished third in the NFL in rushing with 1,319 yards, en route to his second consecutive Pro Bowl berth. In Week 14, McCoy broke Wilbert Montgomery's 30-year-old Eagles rushing record of 6,538 yards.
Following a transformation to the running backs room in 2015, Staley successfully helped two first-time Eagles tailbacks get quickly acclimated and produce results on the field. Working with Demarco Murray and Ryan Matthews, Staley's tandem of running backs continued to deliver in production. The duo of Murray and Matthews became the first pair of Eagles backs with six-or-more rushing touchdowns in a season since 2003. Matthews finished 2015 ranked fourth in the NFL in yards per carry (5.08).
Following another coaching staff change in Philadelphia in 2016, Doug Pederson saw fit to retain Staley on his staff as well. In just Staley's second season with Pederson in 2017, the rushing attack was a major factor in helping the club secure its first Super Bowl (LII) victory. The Eagles boasted the third overall rushing offense (132.2 ypg) in the NFL en route to their title. The team also owned the NFL's fourth-best rushing average (4.47 ypa) that season. Staley's running backs room consisted of key offensive contributors such as LeGarrette Blount and Jay Ajayi. Under Staley's tutelage, Blount earned the third-most rushing yards (776) by an Eagles running back age 30-or-older. Additionally, Ajayi ranked second among NFL running backs in rushing average (5.83) over the last eight games of the regular season, after being acquired in a trade with the Miami Dolphins in Week 9.
Prior to Detroit, Staley's most recent success with the Eagles included his work with Eagles RB Miles Sanders in 2019. Sanders was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team after leading all NFL rookies in all-purpose yards (1,641) and scrimmage yards (1,327). His 2019 campaign also set new Eagles records in both rushing yards (818) and scrimmage yards (1,327) for rookies.
Marked by his own career as a powerful, elusive rusher, Staley was a third-round draft selection (71st overall) by the Eagles in 1997 out of South Carolina, where he rushed for 1,852 yards from 1995-96. He was elected to South Carolina's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.
Staley played for the Eagles for seven seasons (1997-2003) before finishing his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2004-06. He gained 5,785 yards during his career, including the fifth-most rushing yards (4,807) in Eagles history. He is one of just three players in Eagles history to eclipse 200 rushing yards in a single game (Van Buren and McCoy). Staley also ranks sixth in Eagles history with 7,305 total yards from scrimmage. He was voted as the Eagles offensive MVP three times (1998, '99 and 2002) and earned a Super Bowl XL championship ring with the Steelers in 2005.
Dating back to his playing days, Staley has built a reputation as being active in the community, including his work with the Special Olympics and the First Steps early childhood education program. He launched the Catch 22 foundation to assist single mothers, and in 2003, traveled to Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar as part of the USO Tour to greet U.S. troops stationed abroad.
A Columbia, S.C, native, Staley has five children, Davin, Damani, Dania, King and Steele. He is married to his wife, Maria.
