Eagles

Dan Campbell Says Duuuuuuuce Staley Won’t be a “Token Assistant” with Lions

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Mar 3rd, 2021 · 2:12 PM EST

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So this Lions head coach is a piece of work. Seems like a really entertaining and crazy and unique dude.

Dan Campbell is his name, and he’s a first-time head coach, having earned the gig after ten seasons in lesser roles with the Saints and Dolphins. He recently hired Duce Staley to be his assistant head coach and RB coach, same job as Duuuuuuce held in Philly, but provided an interesting quote when asked about the role he has in mind:

#Lions coach Dan Campbell said he told Duce Staley he wasn’t going to be “a token assistant head coach” and he plans to use him as “a true assistant head coach.” Full quote 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/mvGvovu3Er

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) March 2, 2021

That’s a good quote. I think everybody was kind of caught off guard by the word “token” because of the racial connotation, but maybe Campbell didn’t mean it that way. Maybe it just came out in this fashion.

Regardless, this guy was an assistant to Sean Payton and got a head coaching gig, so it’s cool to hear that he’s going to give Duce an elevated role and involve him in as many things as possible. Maybe that will get Duce to the next level or help him become a head coach himself some day.