The old adage about offensive linemen is that if you never notice them, it means they’re doing their job.
That was never true of Joe Staley. He did a good job, all right. But how could you not notice him?
He was a 295-pound tough guy who belted out Backstreet Boys songs on karaoke night and crooned Disney tunes in the 49ers training room.
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He hosted a gleefully goofy locker room interview segment, “The Joe Show,” in which he welcomed his guests with cheeky introductions like, “Here’s my eighth favorite player on the football team, Dakota Watson …”
You noticed him because he was always there, somehow still standing even as the franchise was blown up and put back together.
Drafted in 2007, with Mike Nolan as his head coach and Jim Hostler as his offensive coordinator, Staley alone proved immune to the coming torrents of change. He blocked for Mike Singletary and Jim Tomsula, for Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, for 2-14 seasons and two Super Bowl defeats.
Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey singing Backstreet Boys, because sure. pic.twitter.com/vJrD45XBLL
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) August 29, 2018
He arrived as part of an infusion of talent in the era of Frank Gore and Patrick Willis. He stayed long enough to pass the torch to the likes of Nick Bosa and George Kittle.
You noticed him, that’s for sure. Staley served as the friendly face of the franchise. If you ever wanted to check the 49ers’ vital signs, you stopped by Staley’s locker to get the pulse.
Example: When the 49ers looked hopelessly lost after the Tomsula/Chip Kelly coaching debacles, the first signal that things were about to improve came when Staley gave an unabashed and immediate endorsement of a new coach named Kyle Shanahan in June 2017.
Staley was so impressed while sitting in classroom meetings during that first minicamp that he leaned over and tapped teammate Daniel Kilgore on his shoulder.
“This is awesome,’’ Staley whispered.
The lineman noticed that Shanahan knew what every player needed to do on every offensive play, and he knew how the defense would react. That is why months before Shanahan’s first game as a head coach, Staley told assembled reporters: “He’s the smartest coach I’ve been around.”
You believed him. You believed him because he’d lasted long enough — suffered long enough — to actually know. You believed him because he was Joe Staley.
It’s been a hell of a ride. Thank you pic.twitter.com/V2VB2xKDzp
— Joe Staley (@jstaley74) April 25, 2020
In announcing his retirement Saturday, a development that was somehow both surreal and unsurprising, the six-time Pro Bowler finished his career with 181 career regular-season games, all in a 49ers uniform. That’s the fifth most all-time among 49ers offensive linemen, trailing only Len Rohde (208), Keith Fahnhorst (193), Randy Cross (185) and Jesse Sapolu (182).
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The guy put the “Stay” in Staley.
“It’s a testament to who he is and what he’s about, the kind of man he is to keep going,’’ Mike McGlinchey, Staley’s 315-pound unofficial little brother, said late last season.
“He’s the definition of resilient,’’ former 49ers receiver Emmanuel Sanders said last season.
Another reason you noticed him: Staley could really play. He was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 2010s, a mythical squad in which he’d protect the blind side of Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, while paving the way on sweeps for the likes of Marshawn Lynch and his old friend Gore.
Staley thrived because he was rangy and technically sound. He made the Pro Bowl every season from 2011 to 2015, then one more in 2017. He was also a three-time second-team All-Pro (2011-13).
As Geoff Schwartz, a former New York Giants offensive lineman, said Saturday on Twitter: “Joe Staley is a lineman everyone should aspire to be. He just beat the shit out of his opponent. Outworked everyone. Technique was on point. Leader for years of winning teams/offenses.”
Joe Staley is a lineman everyone should aspire to be. He just beat the shit out of his opponent. Outworked everyone. Technique was on point. Leader for years of winning teams/offenses.
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 25, 2020
Staley, whom the 49ers replaced Saturday with their acquisition of seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, retired at a time in which his talent was intact, even as his body rebelled. He detailed his ailments in his farewell letter, writing that “the constant discomfort affected every aspect of my life.”
Until then, the key to his longevity was his ability to adapt. If Staley had a bad game, or even a bad stretch, he figured out a better technical approach. He never stopped learning, even at age 35. In Week 10 of the 2019 season, for example, Jadeveon Clowney of the Seattle Seahawks tormented Staley — who had missed the past six games with a broken leg — en route to five quarterback hits, a sack and a forced fumble.
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But in the rematch six weeks later, Staley stymied the defensive end and held Clowney to two tackles as the 49ers won in Seattle for the first time since 2011 to clinch the NFC West title. As the longest-tenured player on the 49ers, he was the only one who’d been around for that previous victory, too.
“It hit me like a wave,” Staley said that night. “I think it was being a part of this franchise for so long. And playing here and being so … not winning. And having a game here with everything on the line for the regular season and the title, and it just felt good.”
Staley’s career as an NFL endurance athlete was impressive for someone who started out as a sprinter on the track team. Staley was a record-setting speedster as a teenager at Rockford High in Michigan. He posted three school marks, including an individual time of 21.9 seconds in the 200 meters. (His other school records were as part of relay teams.)
Staley began his college career at Central Michigan as a tight end, but before his sophomore year new head coach Brian Kelly and offensive line coach Jeff Quinn had a bright idea. They figured the big guy with the nimble feet might just have a future as a tackle.
So, the leanly-muscled Staley embraced his transformation to behemoth by working out twice a day and eating as if it was the last day on Earth. His 2 a.m. snack was a 2,000-calorie protein shake.
By the time Staley was a senior, the former speedster was a full-fledged mauler. He became the first Central Michigan Chippewa to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Not long after the 49ers called his name, Staley established that he wasn’t going anywhere. He became the first 49ers rookie offensive lineman to start every game in a season since Cas Banaszek did it over a 14-game season in 1968. In all, only three NFL rookies played every snap of that 2007 season: Staley, Willis and Browns left tackle Joe Thomas.
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That proved to be a hallmark of Staley’s career. He missed just 27 games over 13 seasons.
Staley’s farewell announcement on Saturday was, predictably, full of elegance and class. In a personal letter posted to his social media accounts, he thanked the York family, his coaches, his teammates, the support and operational staff, the fans and his wife, Carrie.
But it would have been OK, too, if he’d just stood up on a karaoke stage one last time. He could have announced his farewell to the NFL by singing a Backstreet Boys song called “Quit Playing Games.”
Deep within my soul I feel
Nothing’s like it used to be
Sometimes I wish I could turn back time
Impossible as it may seem
Joe Staley's final career totals: 3 catches on 3 targets for 26 yards. Truly a remarkable legacy. #49ers
— Daniel Brown (@BrownieAthletic) April 25, 2020
(Photo: Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)
