Philadelphia Eagles Interview Former Running Back Duce Staley

The Philadelphia Eagles have interviewed Duce Staley, their former starting running back, for the head coaching position left vacant when Chip Kelly was fired, according to ESPN.

Earlier in the week, the Philadelphia Eagles made huge headlines when they announced the release of Chip Kelly from the head coaching position after weeks of rumors.

Since Chip Kelly was fired a game before the NFL regular season ended, many wondered what the motive was by Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeff Lurie. His answer was rather simple.

Jeff Lurie fired Chip Kelly early because he was eager to find a new head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. Lurie knew that Kelly was not going to be a part of the team in the future.

By firing Chip Kelly before the season ended, Jeff Lurie was able to get a head start on all of the other NFL teams that are expected to fire their head coaches on Black Monday.

Since it is easier to arrange interviews with people who are already in house, Jeff Lurie decided to start his head coaching search by interviewing Duce Staley, his current assistant coach.

Back in the 1997 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Duce Staley in the third round, as the team felt that then starter Ricky Watters was getting close to the end of his career.

From 1997 until 2003, Duce Staley played in 98 games for the Philadelphia Eagles, amassing 1,200 carries, 4,807 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 275 receptions. Very respectable numbers.

After being allowed to walk away as a free agent, Duce Staley not only played for the interstate rival Pittsburgh Steelers, but he also won a Super Bowl as the backup to Jerome Bettis.

Most Philadelphia Eagles fans started forgiving Duce Staley for his stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers once he came back to the team and joined the coaching staff to help running backs.

The fact that he went to battle on the field for the Philadelphia Eagles might enable him to win over the fans as a head coach. Fan support is very vital to head coaches.

It also helps Duce Staley greatly that Jeff Lurie has been a long time fan of him as a player, a coach and a person. Lurie was the owner when Staley was drafted out of South Carolina.

If Duce Staley becomes the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, then he is going to need to learn from the mistakes made by Chip Kelly, the ones that ended up costing him his job.

There are plenty of allegations that Chip Kelly is a really difficult person to deal with. He has been accused of not wanting to talk to the players and others that work for the franchise.

As a former player who knows exactly how things are like in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room, Duce Staley knows that he has to build relationships with his players and coaches.

Duce Staley needs to be less like Chip Kelly and more like his mentor, Andy Reid, the former Philadelphia Eagles head coach who is now the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Interestingly enough, Duce Staley is very much like Andy Reid, as he is someone that is trying to make the jump to head coach without having any prior experience as a coordinator.

Jeff Lurie took the risk back in 1999 when he plucked Andy Reid from the Green Bay Packers, as Reid then only had experience coaching the offensive line and the quarterbacks.

If the Philadelphia Eagles can get another Andy Reid in Duce Staley, then things will start looking up for them.

[Featured Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images]