Lions assistant head coach Duce Staley reportedly leaving for Panthers job

Detroit Lions assistant HC/RB coach Duce Staley talks with running back Jamaal Williams (30) before an NFL football game between the Carolina Panthers and the Detroit Lions on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
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ALLEN PARK -- Dan Campbell is going to need a new right-hand man.

Duce Staley has accepted a job with the Carolina Panthers, according to ESPN. Staley spent the last two years as the Detroit Lions’ assistant head coach and running backs coach. He was a trusted confidant for Campbell while becoming exceedingly popular with players, even the ones he rode the hardest.

“He knows what it takes,” running back D’Andre Swift said in training camp. “He’s been in the position that I was in, so he the type of coach that’s going to push me to my limits, and that’s the type of coach that I need.”

Staley’s results with Swift were a mixed bag to the very end, as the former second-round pick continues to fail to live up to his tantalizing potential. There were more successes on other fronts though, most notably the blossoming of Jamaal Williams, a former Packers backup who has found stardom in Detroit. Williams enjoyed a career season after signing with Detroit in 2021, then ran for 1,066 yards and 17 touchdowns during a breakout season in 2022. He broke Barry Sanders’ single-season touchdown record while becoming the first Lions player to have a 1,000-yard season since Reggie Bush in 2013.

The Lions ran for 128.2 yards per game overall last season, a team high since Sanders’ MVP season in 1997.

Staley is a former NFL star who spent the first 10 years of his coaching career in Philadelphia. He joined Campbell’s initial staff in Detroit with hopes it would get him closer to becoming a head coach, although was passed over for the offensive coordinator job last offseason and has yet to interview for a head job elsewhere. Now he becomes the first known departure from the Lions’ coaching staff this offseason, although defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn remains up for the head-coaching vacancies in Arizona and Indianapolis.

The Lions are also bringing on Steve Heiden, a longtime tight end for the Cleveland Browns, to coach that position group next season. It remains unclear what will happen with Tanner Engstrand, who coached the tight ends and was the passing game coordinator last season.

Detroit has declined to comment on any reported coaching moves, saying it will release a list of adjustments in the future.

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