3 head coach candidates after Eagles fire Doug Pederson
Duce Staley. 2. player. Scouting Report. RB Coach, Eagles. 54. Pick Analysis.
Staley just finished his eighth season as Eagles’ running backs coach, with the last three as an assistant head coach as well. Going back to two season as a special teams quality control coach (2011 and 2012), Staley has spent his entire coaching career with the Eagles. He also spent seven of his 10 seasons as an NFL running back in Philadelphia.
If Pederson lost the locker room, which there are indications he has in the wake of his decision to bench Hurts and go with Nate Sudfeld in the season finale, Staley stands as a likely contrast. One of his pupils, Mile Sanders, endorsed him as a head coaching candidate during this past season.
Eagles RB Miles Sanders says Duce Staley would make a helluva head Coach @6abc #Eagles pic.twitter.com/NpivyGKV9Q
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) November 27, 2020
Where Pederson had increasingly shown himself to be an overrated offensive mind, Staley might have the formula to fix Wentz (more focus on the running game) or unleash Hurts fully depending on the direction the Eagles move with their quarterbacks this offseason. The bigger picture is all dependent on Pederson being gone, of course. But it would not be surprising if Lurie has started a preliminary coaching search by gauging Staley’s interest in being bumped up to head coach.