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Duce Staley gave his heart and soul to the Philadelphia Eagles organization for 17 seasons. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie said Staley was “kind of like a son to me” shortly after his former assistant coach left the team and took his talents to the Detroit Lions.
Staley has never spewed any venom toward the Eagles. Everything has been copacetic. Both sides moved on and never looked back. Yet there has to be a tiny bit of animosity buried deep inside the 47-year-old football lifer as he prepares his Lions to face his old franchise in Week 1.
Staley – associate head coach and running backs coach for Detroit — admitted (via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard) that “it’ll be real good to go out there and smack them in the mouth a little bit.”
Look for the fiery leader (and future head coach) to be running around the sideline on Sunday with a little extra juice injected in his veins. Staley might not have all-out revenge on his mind but he will instruct his running backs to take no prisoners.
“We want to make sure we impose our will on this league,” Staley told Detroit reporters. “And we want people to know we’re going to run the ball. We’re not shying away from it. But now that goes back to OTAs and that goes back to camp because you gotta set the tone. And, you know, with limited padded practices, not being able to hit like we once did when I played, stuff like that, the mentality comes from setting it in your mind. And that’s what these guys did.”
Staley Credits Dan Campbell for ‘Injecting Juice’
Lions head coach Dan Campbell respects the hell out of Staley. He made it very clear from Day 1 that Staley wasn’t a “token assistant head coach.” No, Campbell has allowed him to insert his will and stamp his blueprint on the offense. The goal is to groom him for a head-coaching job, hopefully in the very near future.
“He’s going to be primed and ready to be a head coach when it’s all said and done and all his bases are going to be covered,” Campbell said in 2021, via CBS Sports. “He’s going to be able to check off every box and say ‘All right, I’ve been there, I’ve done that. I know, I’ve been trained for this — just like Sean (Payton) did for me.”
Meanwhile, Staley — just watch HBO’s “Hard Knocks” for confirmation — appreciates everything Campbell does. He’s a true leader, a guy who comes to work every day with his lunch pail and expects to win.
“True leader and that’s what you see in Dan day in and day out,” Staley said. “He comes to work and I tell you, man, he comes in with a chip on his shoulder because he wants to win. There’s no if, ands, or buts about it. And he puts in the work every day, and that energy and that juice is injected into the coaches and it’s injected into the team.”
Eagles-Lions Final Injury Report for Week 1
The Eagles are 100% healthy for the regular-season opener in Detroit. The team listed four players on their final injury report, all of them were full participants at Friday’s practice and carry no injury designation for Week 1. That includes starting running back Miles Sanders.
The Lions listed two players out for Sunday: starting center Tommy Kraemer and backup defensive tackle Levi Onwuzurike. Detroit also may be without backup safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (hamstring) who is doubtful. Starting center Frank Ragnow is questionable. Ditto for reserve linebacker Julian Okwara.
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