Make the Obvious Choice: Why the Eagles Should Hire Duce Staley to be the Offensive Coordinator
The coaching staff and player personnel decisions in the NFL are hard for head coaches to make. Sometimes the obvious and most logical decision is in front of your face or standing right next to you.
After the firing of OC Mike Groh and WR’s coach Carson Walch earlier this week, head coach Doug Pederson is left with the task of finding a new Offensive Coordinator.
While there are names floating around from former Lions’ head coach Jim Caldwell to recently fired Giants’ head coach Pat Shurmur, the hot choice is not necessarily the “right” choice.
For many Eagles fans, and I bet inside the Eagles locker room, the right choice is Duce Staley. Many NFL news sites and radio shows are saying the exact same thing-Duce Staley is a perfect fit for the job as the Eagles’ next OC.
Staley already is an assistant head coach which means that Doug Pederson truly values him by elevating Staley to a leadership position within the coaching staff. Duce Staley is an integral part of the Eagles family from his playing days at running back to his longevity as an assistant coach for both Andy Reid and Chip Kelly. Staley has made great strides in developing the Eagles ground game as the team has averaged no less than 5th in the NFL in rushing offense (122.9 yards per game) since Staley has been coaching the running backs in Philadelphia.
All you have to do is look at the Eagles backfield roster over the past few years and realize how much success Duce Staley has brought to this team: LaGarrette Blount, DeMarco Murray, LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Ryan Matthews and now the dynamic duo of Miles Sanders and Boston Scott along with Jordan Howard. Staley has a particular talent for truly developing an elite running back corps and for this alone he has to be recognized as a great offensive coach considering the Eagles have made it to the playoffs four years in a row and won the Super Bowl in 2018.
The role of OC in the modern NFL offense continues to fall in the hands of mostly former QB’s who develop the offense based on the passing game. When the position of OC is looked at in this light, running backs and tight ends are used primarily as pass blockers with secondary route responsibilities while primary passing-game duties on the offensive side of the ball are left to quarterbacks and receivers.
If this is true in the case of the Eagles, then why were the top three receivers this past season TEs and RBs such as Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, and Miles Sanders? Even the “Air Raid” offensive scheme of Kliff Kingsbury has now added a “Ground Raid” package to the Arizona Cardinals offensive playbook and what happened? The Cardinals began to win games including a big win in Seattle at the end of the regular season when they added a running game option package (called by many names but popularly called the RPO- run-pass option) into their pass-oriented offense.
The modern NFL offense includes incorporating running backs as dual-threat pass receivers and better utilizing tight ends as “big body” receiving matchups against a smaller secondary coverage.
Duce Staley is a great offensive mind who can easily motivate players to perfect their playing craft and he is universally respected among fellow coaches on the Eagles staff and players in the locker room. Furthermore, Staley has moved up the ranks from player to coach for the Eagles under three different head coaches which shows his commitment and loyalty to success for this organization.
Sometimes the answer is right in front of you and the answer for Doug Pederson to fill the new OC position is a man located in an office just feet away from his – Duce Staley.
Featured Image: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.