Eagles: Duce Staley misses another opportunity to get promoted
The Philadelphia Eagles have promoted Mike Groh to the offensive coordinator position over Duce Staley.
What will it take for Philadelphia Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley to get a promotion here? The team announced on Monday that running backs coach Duce Staley and receivers coach Mike Groh would interview for the vacant offensive coordinator position. On Tuesday, Doug Pederson and the Eagles have elected to go with Groh over Staley.
Staley, who has been with the Eagles since 2011 hasn’t made his way up too much in the organization. Aside from his promotion from Special Teams quality control coach to running backs coach in 2013, Staley has remained patient within his position.
That is not to say that Duce hasn’t gotten an opportunity to at least tryout, though. Back in 2015 when the team canned Chip Kelly, Duce Staley was one of the first candidates to get an interview. He would eventually lose the job to Doug Pederson. But yet again, Duce got an opportunity to get promoted to the team’s offensive coordinator. Unfortunately, Groh’s one season in Philadelphia proved to be more convincing, rather than Staley’s six-year track record.
Why Groh over Duce?
Duce Staley has been praised by some Eagles players. Recently, LeGarrette Blount said that he was one of the best coaches he has ever dealt with. But somehow, someway the Eagles do not see him as more than a coach in the backfield. Aside from the rotation of the backfield, Staley hasn’t had to do much with his players.
In the last couple of years, Staley has had some stellar talent to work with in the backfield. Guys like LeSean McCoy, Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles, and Blount have already been established runners in the league. Maybe the Eagles don’t see him as a coach who has really had to work on developing players during his time here.
Unlike Duce, Groh inherited a damaged receiving core when he came to the Eagles. Aside from Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz, the Eagles were lost at wide receiver. Groh did an excellent job with the much-improved receiving core in 2017. His impact on Nelson Agholor alone could’ve probably got him the job.
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Although the Eagles fan base does not seem to happy with the choice, not much will really change. With Pederson calling the plays, the offensive coordinator for the Eagles is just a title at this point. Everyone will resume in 2018 with the same duties. The only issue is whether Duce will be happy or not. For now, nothing will change. But we can’t say the same for next season when he could possibly find a job elsewhere.