Former 10-Year NFL Veteran Frontrunner to Fill Jets' Coaching Staff Void?

With Taylor Embree reportedly out, who will New York hire as its running backs coach for 2023?

New York Jets' head coach Robert Saleh said not to expect any major offseason changes to the coaching staff, but there will be at least one new face in the mix.

As initially reported by SNY's Connor Hughes, running backs coach Taylor Embree will not return for the 2024 season. He was a member of Saleh's staff for each of the past three years.

Embree, a former UCLA receiver, cut his teeth in coaching as a quality control assistant with the San Francisco 49ers when Saleh was the franchise's defensive coordinator. The 35-year-old presided over a unit led by second-year running back Breece Hall, who successfully rebounded from ACL surgery by totaling 1,585 yards from scrimmage.

Jets' ball carriers collectively averaged 4.2 yards per rush attempt in 2023. Meanwhile, Breece Hall was exceptional catching the ball out of the backfield. He led all NFL running backs in pass receptions with 76 grabs for 591 yards. 

Duce Staley is being reported as a possible replacement for Embree. The NFL running back-turned-coach was fired as part of the Carolina Panthers' in-season house cleaning. Prior to the partial season with the Panthers, Staley was the assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Detroit Lions in 2021 and 2022. 

Multiple reports said Staley met with the Jets and Saleh last week. Set to turn 49 years old on February 27, Staley enjoyed 10 seasons as an NFL running back. He accounted for three 1,000-yard rushing campaigns and totaled 8,372 career scrimmage yards.

According to ESPN's Turron Davenport, the Jets are also interested in Tony Dews as a candidate for the vacant RB coach position. He has spent the past six seasons with the Tennessee Titans.

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