Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid surprisingly doesn’t have to make many changes to his coaching staff this offseason. The most notable change was at offensive coordinator, as he brought back Eric Bieniemy, who was the Chicago Bears RBs coach, to take over for Matt Nagy.
In addition to OC, the Chiefs also hired a new WRs coach last month in Chad O’Shea, who is replacing Connor Embree. However, Kansas City needs to figure out who will take over for Todd Pinkston as RBs coach.
The first name that comes to mind for this vacancy, and most Chiefs fans would love, is Duce Staley. Staley played under Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles, and also got his coaching start alongside him.
Staley is currently the RBs coach with the Cleveland Browns, but it remains to be seen if he’ll stick around as they hired a new head coach. There was a belief that the Chicago Bears could be a fit for Staley thanks to his connection with Ben Johnson. However, the Bears reportedly hired former Miami Dolphins RBs coach Eric Studesville as their new RBs coach, which keeps the door open for Staley to reunite with Reid in Kansas City.
Andy Reid Still Has Chance to Add Duce Staley to Coaching Staff for 2026
The idea of having Staley and Bieniemy both on the offensive side of the ball would be a dream scenario for the Chiefs. This season, the Chiefs were ranked 25th in rushing, averaging 106.6 yards per game, which isn't a recipe for success.
Staley has done a great job over the last several years working with different styles of running backs.
Over the past two years with the Browns, he’s had a chance to work with Nick Chubb and rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. This season, Judkins was one of the few bright spots on the Browns’ offense, recording 998 total yards and seven total touchdowns.
If you look at what he did with the Detroit Lions during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Staley was integral in D’Andre Swift's development and helped Jamaal Williams enjoy the best season of his career (17 rushing TDs and 1,066 rushing yards in 2022).
It would be an insult to Staley not to mention that he also worked with running backs such as LeSean McCoy, LeGarrette Blount, Jay Ajayi, and Miles Sanders during his time in Philadelphia. He, along with Bieniemy, would be the perfect coaches to get rookie Brashard Smith on track.
Smith showed some glimpses of potential this season, but the Chiefs weren’t ready to give him a bigger workload. Instead, they continued to run the ball with Isiah Pacheco, who was a disappointment in 2025.
The Chiefs already hit a home run by bringing back Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, as he will bring some accountability and creativity to the offense. Reid can put the finishing touches on the staff by adding Staley, who can assist Bieniemy in getting Kansas City's rushing attack back on track.