Duce Staley is in his first season with the Carolina Panthers in 2023, serving as assistant head coach/running backs after joining the team from the Detroit Lions, where he spent the last two seasons in the same role.
In 2022, Staley's running back group was part of one of the NFL's most productive offenses as the Lions finished among the NFL's leaders in most major categories, including total offense (fourth – 380.0 yards per game), passing offense (eighth -251.8), rushing offense (11th – 128.2) and points scored (fifth – 26.6) as the Lions finished with nine wins, the team's most since 2017.
The Lions rushing attack finished the season with 23 rushing touchdowns, tied for third in the NFL and the third-most in a single season in franchise history. Their 2,179 rushing yards were the team's most in a single season since 1997 and the seventh-most in franchise history overall.
Running back Jamaal Williams had a career year, setting a new single-season franchise record and leading the NFL with 17 rushing touchdowns, passing Barry Sanders' previous record of 16 rushing touchdowns set in 1991. Williams notched his first 1,000-yard rushing season, finishing 11th in the NFL with 1,066 yards becoming the first Lion to rush for 1,000+ yards in a single season since 2013.
Staley joined Detroit's staff in 2021 and his 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. Running back D'Andre Swift became the first Lions running back since 2014 to produce 1,000 scrimmage yards in a season.
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 hired 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.
In Staley's first season coaching running backs in 2013, 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.
Staley played a key role in the dominance of running back 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 led the NFL in rushing yards and scrimmage yards (2,146) in 2013. 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.
Staley stayed on with Doug Pederson's coaching staff in 2016, joining now-Panthers head coach Frank Reich in the offensive meeting rooms as assistants. 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.
Marked in his own playing 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 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.
PLAYING CAREER
1997-2003 | Philadelphia Eagles
2004-06 | Pittsburgh Steelers
COACHING CAREER
2011-12 | Philadelphia Eagles | Special Teams Quality Control
2013-17 | Philadelphia Eagles | Running Backs
2018-20 | Philadelphia Eagles | Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs
2021-22 | Detroit Lions | Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs
2023-pres | Carolina Panthers | Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs
