(Philadelphia-AP) -- Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid and holdout running back Duce Staley finally decided to talk.

Reid met with Staley's agent Derrick Harrison for about two and a half hours last night at the team's practice facility in South Philadelphia. Staley was not present at the meeting but participated by phone.

Neither side is giving out the details of the discussion. While the meeting served as a good start, Staley's return doesn't appear imminent.

Staley is entering his seventh N-F-L season and has one year left on his contract with the Eagles. He will make a base salary of 2-point-2 (m) million dollars this season. But Staley would like an extension or some assurance from the team that he is part of its future plans.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-08-18-03 1614EDT