The Bears have found their replacement for Eric Bienemy, their running backs coach in 2025 who returned to Kansas City as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator this offseason. Former Dolphins assistant Eric Studesville will take up the job in 2026, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
Studesville, 58, began his NFL coaching career with the Bears as an offensive quality control coach in 1997. Interestingly, that followed a college career in which he played and coached on the defensive side of the ball. He then served as the wide receivers coach/assistant special teams coach in 1999 and 2000 before he was hired by the Giants to be their running backs coach. He spent three years in New York before taking the same job with the Bills (2004-2009), Broncos (2010-2016), and Dolphins (2017-2025).
In Miami, he also held the titles of run game coordinator (2017-2020), co-offensive coordinator (2021), and associate head coach (2022-2025). He also overlapped with then-Dolphins WRs coach Ben Johnson for two years and will now fill a key role on his staff in Chicago.
Studeville has developed notable star running backs in his career, including De’Von Achane, Tiki Barber, Fred Jackson, Willis McGahee, C.J. Anderson, and Knowshon Moreno. He will now work with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who were an effective one-two punch in 2025.
This move makes sense. I’m good with the hire. Studesville Is a solid, respected veteran coach. He, along with DC Allen balance out an overall young coaching staff. One, that’s likely on an incline for higher positions down the road. Next, probably promote from within and look at J.T Barrett or Press Taylor as OC. Then hire from the outside to fill the opening. Maybe Connor Senger? If he’s interested. Another name that came up is Charlie Weis Jr. Currently OC at LSU. Either one would fit HC Johnson’s profile. Young coaches with lots of room to grow into something more prominent down the road.
Great! If Fred is good with the hire, then I am too
Makes three of us.
All the great RBs I’ve seen had excellent instincts and vision and I’m very skeptical that those things can actually be coached.
Your obsession with the idea that players don’t need coaches is so bizarre. Even really good running backs need to learn new plays and blocking assignments, work on route running and component skills, study film, and all sorts of other things that coaches do. Not to mention the fact that no team makes it through a whole season with only the top couple of running backs on their roster entering a season.
In the early 60s coaching staffs were a fraction of the size they are today. The fundamentals haven’t changed. So yeah, I’m saying a lot of coaching hires are unnecessary.
There’s vastly more money in the game and they’re allowed less practice time. Head coaches also have more media responsibilities. Position coaches aren’t excessive.
You can say the same about QB’s, receivers, tackles, edge rushers. Any position player really. Yes, I agree, physical and athletic ability along with intellect matter. But good coaching is paramount.
This is also under a notoriously detail oriented offensive play caller who runs maybe the most diverse run scheme in football. Natural ability doesn’t prepare a guy for that.