Austin Clark - Pro Football Rumors

Dolphins To Retain Eric Studesville, Hire New Offensive Line Coach

February 12th, 2022 at 4:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

In addition to keeping DC Josh Boyer and special teams coordinator Danny Crossman, the Dolphins are also retaining more coaches from Brian Flores‘ most recent staff. This includes one of Flores’ final offensive coordinators.

Eric Studesville will return on Mike McDaniel‘s first staff, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Co-offensive coordinator along with George Godsey in 2021, Studesville will stay on as Miami’s running backs coach. Godsey will not be back and is now part of the Ravens’ staff, taking a job as their tight ends coach.

Studesville was previously Miami’s running backs coach under Flores but rose to the co-OC position last year. McDaniel will mark Studesville’s third boss in Miami, with Flores also keeping him around as a holdover. Adam Gase initially brought Studesville to Miami in 2018. The veteran coach was previously with the Broncos for eight years, serving as their interim HC in 2010 and staying on as running backs coach under John Fox, Gary Kubiak and Vance Joseph.

The Dolphins are still conducting OC interviews. Whoever lands the job will be the team’s seventh OC in the past six seasons. The team has interviewed Falcons QBs coach Charles London, Chargers offensive line coach Frank Smith and Saints wide receivers coach Curtis Johnson thus far. Miami will also retain defensive line coach Austin Clark, linebackers coach Anthony Campanile and cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, Jackson adds.

Miami’s O-line coach role has also been in flux for years, and there appears to be another new hire en route. While Jackson notes incumbent Lemuel Jeanpierre had not been informed of his status as of Friday, Pete Thamel of Yahoo.com tweets the Dolphins are expected to hire Boston College O-line coach Matt Applebaum to the same position. Given the team’s O-line situation, which saw multiple young blockers (Robert Hunt, Austin Jackson) change positions over the past year, this is a fairly key hire.

This will be a big jump for Applebaum, who was at the Division I-FCS level as recently as 2019. He did spent four years in the NFL previously, spending time as an assistant with Washington and Jacksonville in the early 2010s. This continues a pattern for the Dolphins, who have not employed the same O-line coach in consecutive seasons since John Benton headed up the unit from 2014-15.

Dolphins To Interview Frank Smith For OC Job

February 12th, 2022 at 12:30pm CST by Ben Levine

Mike McDaniel continues to look for an offensive coordinator. The Dolphins will interview Chargers run game coordinator/OL coach Frank Smith for their OC job, reports NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter).

Smith joined the Chargers just last offseason. He spent the previous three years with the Raiders as their tight ends coach, overseeing the development of Darren Waller. The veteran coach also served as the Bears tight ends coach for three years, and he had a five-year stint as the Saints assistant offensive line coach (during which time the Saints had four OLs earn Pro Bowl nods: Jermon Bushrod, Jahri Evans, Ben Grubbs, and Carl Nicks).

We previously heard that Curtis Johnson was a candidate for the OC job in Miami. The Dolphins were set to interview the long-time Saints coach for the vacancy.

Elsewhere on the Dolphins staff, McDaniel will be retaining a handful of coaches. In addition to defensive coordinator Josh Boyer, the Dolphins will also be keeping linebackers coach Anthony Campanile, cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, and defensive line coach Austin Clark on the staff (per Barry Jackson of Miami Herald on Twitter).

Coaching Notes: Campbell, Smith, Dolphins

November 13th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Prior to hiring Adam Gase, the Jets requested an interview with Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell. The Browns were interested as well, before promoting Freddie Kitchens. Instead, the Big 12 leader signed an extension to stay in Ames. But Campbell is intrigued by the prospect of coaching in the NFL, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. Known for his offensive acumen and the revitalization effort he authored at Iowa State — which has started 5-2 this season — Campbell could be a more serious contender to fill one of the league’s coaching vacancies next year. Since the last time he popped up on the NFL radar, Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Rhule have made the jump. The Cyclones’ 40-year-old HC may be next.

Here is the latest from the coaching ranks:

Unsurprisingly, Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has emerged as a coaching candidate. “A lot of intrigue” surrounds Tennessee’s second-year OC, Pelissero adds. Smith, 38, did not receive looks last season, but Ryan Tannehill‘s sustained success — Thursday night’s underwhelming performance notwithstanding — after a mediocre Miami career has turned heads. Smith figures to receive interview requests in 2021.
Despite the NFL’s recent trend of preferring offense-oriented coaches, Brandon Staley is viewed by some as a future head coach. The Rams plucked Staley off Vic Fangio‘s Broncos staff, making the 37-year-old assistant their defensive coordinator. He is viewed by current and former colleagues as a future HC, Pelissero adds. However, teams may want to see Staley be a coordinator for more than one season. Prior to his Los Angeles arrival, he served as outside linebackers coach in Chicago and Denver.
Shifting to current coaching situations, a few teams will be without staffers Sunday. The Dolphins will be hit hardest on this front. After placing Christian Wilkins and Kyle Van Noy on their reserve/COVID-19 list, the Dolphins will be without quarterbacks coach Robby Brown, defensive line coach Marion Hobby, outside linebackers coach Austin Clark and quality control staffer Kolby Smith against the Chargers because of coronavirus protocols, per ESPN.com’s Cameron Wolfe (on Twitter). Running backs coach Eric Studesville and former Texans OC George Godsey will assist Chan Gailey with QB responsibilities.
The Bengals and Steelers have a combined 10 players on their respective COVID lists. The Bengals will also be without wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell because of “COVID-19 reasons,” the team announced. Assistant wideouts coach Troy Walters will take on more responsibility.

Dolphins Add To Coaching Staff

January 20th, 2020 at 7:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2020 Dolphins will have two new coordinators, but in addition to the previously revealed Chan Gailey–Josh Boyer OC-DC setup, the rebuilding team will bring in some new position coaches as well.

Steve Marshall will become the Dolphins’ third offensive line coach in two years, while Curt Kuntz and Austin Clark will come aboard as assistant defensive backs and outside linebackers coaches, respectively. None of Miami’s new assistants coached in the NFL this season.

Marshall will join Brian Flores‘ staff, following Pat Flaherty and Dave DeGuglielmo in the role. Both spent time as the Dolphins’ O-line coach last year. Marshall coached in the Alliance of American Football last year; his most recent NFL work came as Jets O-line coach from 2015-17. Marshall also spent time with the Packers, Texans and Browns while previously serving as offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and North Carolina.

Kuntz will make an interesting rise, having spent the past eight years as the head coach at Struthers (Ohio) High School. Bill Belichick‘s father, former Navy scout Steve Belichick, attended Struthers. This loose Patriots connection makes sense on Flores’ staff. Clark, 30, spent the past two seasons on Lovie Smith‘s Illinois staff. This will be Clark’s first NFL gig.