Eric Studesville is in his second season as running backs coach for the Denver Broncos in 2011. Entering his 11th season coaching running backs in the NFL and 15th overall year in the league, Studesville was named the team’s fourth interim head coach and 13th head coach overall in team history on Dec. 6, 2010.
He led the club for the last four games of the 2010 season, earning his first NFL win against Houston on Dec. 26.
Before joining the Broncos, he spent the six seasons (2004-09) coaching running backs in Buffalo following a three-year stint (2001-03) in that capacity with the New York Giants. Studesville’s NFL coaching career began in 1997 with Chicago following six years working at the collegiate level.
Over the second half of the 2010 season, the Broncos registered a 1.8-yards-per-carry improvement that ranked first in the NFL. The team’s improvement of 58.6 rushing yards per game over that span ranked second in the league. Under his tutelage, running back Knowshon Moreno became the fifth player in franchise history to record 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first two NFL seasons. Moreno is tied for second among all players that entered the league in 2009 with 17 touchdowns.
Eric Studesville is in his second season as running backs coach for the Denver Broncos in 2011. Entering his 11th season coaching running backs in the NFL and 15th overall year in the league, Studesville was named the team’s fourth interim head coach and 13th head coach overall in team history on Dec. 6, 2010.
He led the club for the last four games of the 2010 season, earning his first NFL win against Houston on Dec. 26.
Before joining the Broncos, he spent the six seasons (2004-09) coaching running backs in Buffalo following a three-year stint (2001-03) in that capacity with the New York Giants. Studesville’s NFL coaching career began in 1997 with Chicago following six years working at the collegiate level.
Over the second half of the 2010 season, the Broncos registered a 1.8-yards-per-carry improvement that ranked first in the NFL. The team’s improvement of 58.6 rushing yards per game over that span ranked second in the league. Under his tutelage, running back Knowshon Moreno became the fifth player in franchise history to record 1,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his first two NFL seasons. Moreno is tied for second among all players that entered the league in 2009 with 17 touchdowns.
During his nine seasons as an NFL running backs coach, Studesville has guided four individuals to a total of seven 1,000-yard rushing seasons with Tiki Barber (2), Marshawn Lynch (2), Willis McGahee (2) and Fred Jackson (1) reaching the mark. His running backs have registered 34 individual 100-yard rushing efforts, a total that includes 14 by McGahee and 12 by Barber.
With the Bills, Studesville had a 1,000-yard rusher in five of his six seasons, including one during each of the last three years, and coached Lynch to a Pro Bowl selection in 2008. Both McGahee (2004-05) and Lynch (2007-08) cleared the 1,000-yard mark in each of their first two seasons with McGahee’s 2,375 yards marking a team record for a player’s first two years and ranking 16th in league annals for that category.
Jackson, in just his third year, became only the ninth undrafted player in league history to post a 1,000-yard rushing effort in 2009, totaling 1,062 yards with Studesville serving as running game coordinator. The Bills finished the season ranked ninth in the league in yards per rush (4.4) that year.
Studesville was promoted to running game coordinator in 2008, a year that saw Lynch become the first Buffalo running back to earn a Pro Bowl nomination in five years after totaling his second consecutive 1,000-yard effort. Lynch (1,036 yds.) and Jackson (500 yds.) formed one of the top rushing duos in the NFL that year, and the two also combined for 84 receptions that led league rushing tandems.
In 2007, Studesville oversaw Lynch’s adjustment to the NFL as a rookie and helped the 12th overall pick lead AFC rookies in rushing with 1,115 yards that ranked second in club history among rookies. He averaged 85.7 rushing yards per game that ranked seventh in the NFL (min. 10 GP) and led the league in rushing attempts per game (21.5).
McGahee’s 990 rushing yards for the Bills in 2006 increased his three-year career total under Studesville to 3,365 yards to mark the ninth-highest total in the league during that time. He finished his Buffalo career with 14 100-yard games that marked the third-highest total in club history and were the most by a player through his first three seasons with the club.
The Bills’ 2005 backfield featured fullback Daimon Shelton, whom Studesville developed into one of the league’s top blockers, along with McGahee, whose 1,247 yards marked his second consecutive 1,000-yard effort. McGahee became the fastest back in team history to total 2,000 career rushing yards, reaching that mark in only 26 games.
Studesville joined the Bills as running backs coach in 2004 and instructed McGahee in his first year, helping the 23rd overall pick become the fourth rookie in team history to reach 1,000 rushing yards (1,128) and tie a club rookie record with 13 rushing touchdowns. McGahee rushed for at least 100 yards in his first three starts, becoming only the third back since the 1970 NFL merger to accomplish that feat.
From 2001-03, Studesville coached the Giants’ running backs and helped Barber post two 1,000- yard rushing efforts while ranking seventh in the league in yards per rush (4.6) and ninth in rushing yards (3,468). Barber also led all NFC running backs (3rd in NFL) with 210 receptions and placed fifth in the league with 5,103 yards from scrimmage during that three-year period.
Barber posted consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons under Studesville in 2003 (1,216 yds.) and ‘02 (1,387 yds.). The running back’s career-high 1,387 rushing yards in 2002 ranked as the second-highest season total in Giants history and helped the club post a 10-6 record and advance to the postseason.
Studesville began his NFL career with the Bears, working during training camp in 1996 as part of the NFL minority fellowship program and spending 1997-2000 in Chicago handling offensive quality control duties.
Before moving into the NFL coaching ranks, Studesville was secondary coach at Kent State University (1995-96) and Wingate University (1994). He worked at the University of North Carolina as a video assistant from 1992-93 after serving as a graduate assistant in 1991 at the University of Arizona, where he earned a master’s degree in exercise physiology.
A defensive back at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Studesville graduated from the school with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. Born May 29, 1967, in Madison, Wis., Studesville is married to Staci, and the couple has one daughter, Sydni.
