Coaching in Super Bowl 'a great opportunity' for Gamecock great Duce Staley

South Carolina has big names in the Super Bowl in the Eagles’ Alshon Jeffery and New England’s Stephon Gilmore.

But one other Gamecock will have a hand in the game.

Former Airport High School, South Carolina and NFL star Duce Staley will coach the Philadelphia Eagles’ running backs. He missed chances to play in the game for Philadelphia (was gone before the trip in the 2004 season) and won a ring with the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, but he didn’t play in the game.

He became a coaching intern in 2010 and stayed on through several staffs, coaching running backs since 2013.

Staley ran for 1,852 yards and 17 touchdowns in two seasons in Columbia. He went on to run for 5,785 yards and 24 touchdowns in 10 NFL seasons, three times surpassing 1,000 yards. He spent seven seasons in Philadelphia and then three in Pittsburgh.

His son, Damani, plays for the Gamecocks.

South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp has made a point of reaching out to former Gamecocks greats, and that’s part of the reason he had Staley speak to the team during the summer.

Muschamp told the Lexington County Chronicle about what Staley told the team and what it will mean for Staley.

"What a great opportunity for Duce, who already owns a Super Bowl ring as a player with the Steelers, to now coach in the Super Bowl with the Eagles,” Muschamp said.

"We had Duce on our campus last summer to speak to our team, and his message resonated with everyone in the room. He loves the Gamecocks and it will be neat to see him coaching from the sidelines while two other Gamecock greats, Alshon Jeffrey and Stephon Gilmore, will be playing in this year’s Super Bowl.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Coaching in Super Bowl 'a great opportunity' for Gamecock great Duce Staley."