Duce Staley was born on February 27,1975 and is an American football coach and former player who is the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.
31 Facts About Duce Staley
2.
Duce Staley previously served in the same capacity with the Detroit Lions during the 2021 and 2022 NFL seasons, and with the Philadelphia Eagles in various assistant coaching roles from 2011 to 2020.
3.
Duce Staley was promoted to the running backs coach in 2013 and given an additional role as assistant head coach in 2018.
4.
Duce Staley was a coach with the Eagles when they won Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots.
5.
Duce Staley attended Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina and was an All-State wide receiver, and played running back sparingly.
6.
Duce Staley caught 59 passes for 489 yards and two touchdowns.
7.
Duce Staley was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1997 NFL Draft and played for the Eagles through the 2003 season.
8.
Under Andy Reid, Duce Staley developed into the team's perennial leading receiver through Reid's screen-heavy West Coast offense.
9.
Duce Staley missed some playing time in 2001 due to a shoulder injury.
10.
Duce Staley signed a five-year, $14 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 9,2004.
11.
Duce Staley had rooted for the Steelers when he was growing up.
12.
Duce Staley instantly became the number one running back for his new team, and was seen as the eventual heir apparent for Jerome Bettis, who at the time had the sixth-most career rushing yards in NFL history.
13.
Duce Staley played in 10 games in 2004, and rushed for 830 yards.
14.
Duce Staley only scored one touchdown however, as Bettis took most goal-line carries, and eventually took over the starting job since Staley missed six games.
15.
Duce Staley played just one snap in the Steelers' 2006 season-opening win against the Dolphins.
16.
Duce Staley officially retired as an Eagle during the Eagles-Giants game on December 9,2007.
17.
At halftime, Duce Staley was escorted onto the field by former teammates for his retirement celebration featuring a brief ceremony and two highlight videos.
18.
Duce Staley became a coaching intern for the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2010 offseason.
19.
On February 8,2011, Duce Staley was promoted to special teams quality control coach.
20.
Kelly was fired as the team's head coach in December 2015 and Duce Staley was interviewed for the vacant head coaching job in January 2016.
21.
Duce Staley was retained as the team's running backs coach by new head coach Doug Pederson on January 20,2016.
22.
On February 20,2018, Duce Staley was promoted to assistant head coach while maintaining his running backs coach position.
23.
Duce Staley planned to communicate with the team virtually during his quarantine, and he relinquished day-to-day head coaching duties to Staley in the interim.
24.
On January 25,2021, Duce Staley was hired by the Detroit Lions as their assistant head coach and running backs coach under head coach Dan Campbell.
25.
On February 1,2023, Duce Staley joined new head coach Frank Reich and the Carolina Panthers as the running backs coach and assistant head coach positions.
26.
Duce Staley is married to Maria Steadman, with three daughters and four sons.
27.
Duce Staley is a native of Columbia, South Carolina, which is where he resides during the offseason.
28.
Duce Staley 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.
29.
Duce Staley annually holds The Duce Staley Football Camp at West Chester University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, which benefits several charities, including First Steps Program in South Carolina, the Variety Club, and Direct Care for Kids.
30.
Duce Staley launched the Catch 22 Foundation to help single mothers.
31.
Duce Staley donated $25,000 to South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges First Steps early childhood education program in 1999 to help improve education in the state.