South Carolina football legend gets new NFL coaching gig

South Carolina football legend Duce Staley had a really nice NFL career as a running back and has been one of the league's top assistant coaches since his playing days ended.

This week, the Columbia native was hired as the Cleveland Browns new running backs coach, replacing the fired Stump Mitchell.

With the Browns, Staley will coach former Georgia Bulldog Nick Chubb, one of the most talented running backs in the NFL. Chubb missed most of the 2023 season with a knee injury, but the Browns are optimistic he will be ready to play in 2024 and can return to the form that saw him make four straight Pro Bowls from 2019 to 2022.

After an All-SEC career with the Gamecocks (over 2300 yards and 13 touchdowns in just two seasons), Staley spent 10 years playing in the NFL (including 3 elite seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles in which he totaled over 1500 yards of offense each year) before injuries slowed and then ended his time as a player. He won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers in his second-to-last season in the league.

A short stint back home in South Carolina (including some broadcasting work) came before he got his first NFL coaching gig with the Eagles. Staley has been in coaching for almost 15 years and is extremely well-respected around the league as a running backs coach and as a potential future head coach. The 48 year old Staley has spent the last 6 seasons as an associate head coach along with his running back duties with the Eagles, Detroit Lions, and Carolina Panthers.

Staley spent last season with the Panthers before meddling owner David Tepper fired almost the entire staff before even allowing them to finish one season. Now, before the NFL season has even ended, the highly coveted Staley has found a new job in Cleveland.