Eric Studesville

Eric Studesville (born May 29, 1967) is an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). Studesville is best known as the former offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills and head coach of the Denver Broncos, a position he held on an interim basis in December 2010. He replaced Josh McDaniels after 12 games in the 2010 NFL Season. He was the first African American head coach in Broncos history, although only on an interim basis.

Studesville played defensive back at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.

Studesville began his coaching career in 1991 being an coaching assistant for the University of Arizona. In 1992 Studesville became the secondary coach for the University of North Carolina where he would remain the secondary coach until the end of the 1993 season. in 1994 Studesville became the defensive coordinator for Wingate University where his defense would allow only 15.7 points a game and help the bulldogs have an 8-2 record in the regular season and make it to the third round of the playoffs. in 1995 Studesville became the defensive coordinator for Kent State University where he would remain the defensive coordinator until the end of the 1996 season. in 1997 Studesville became an NFL coach for the Chicago Bears coaching the running backs he would remain the running backs coach until the end of the 2000 season.

2001-2003

In 2001, Studesville was hired as the New York Giants running backs coach. There, he guided running back Tiki Barber to three consecutive 1,000 yard rushing seasons and paved the way for Barber to become one of the best offensive weapons for the Giants in the coming years. In 2002, Barber recorded 1,554 rushing yards which was not only a career high for the running back, but the second-most total in Giants franchise history.

2004–2009

He left the Giants in 2004 and joined the Buffalo Bills coaching staff as the running backs coach under Offensive Coordinator Tom Clements. The Bills would finish the season 9-7, their last winning record until the 2014 season, by scoring 24.6 points a game, with Bills running backs 13th in the NFL in rushing. Studesville is largely given credit for the emergence of Willis McGahee, who, after recovering from a catastrophic knee injury sustained in college, gained 1297 yards from scrimmage. In 2005, the running game was the main highlight of an otherwise stagnant team led by journeyman Kelly Holcomb and 2nd year quarterback JP Losman, as the Bills finished 5-11 while McGahee gained 1425 yards from scrimmage. In 2006, Mularkey was fired and Dick Jauron was brought on to replace him; Jauron would keep Studesville as the team's running backs coach under offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild. After a pedestrian year for the Bills rushing attack spearheaded by Willis McGahee and Anthony Thomas in 2006 (the same year that Division III Coe College product Fred Jackson was recruited to the Bills by its then-general manager and fellow alum Marv Levy and remained on the practice squad that season), in 2007, the Bills drafted Marshawn Lynch who gained 1299 yards in his rookie season under Studesville's tutelage. 2007 also saw Fred Jackson's call-up from the practice squad and emergence as a threat, as he played in 8 games and gained nearly 500 yards from scrimmage while maintaining a special teams role as well. 2008, under new offensive coordinator Turk Schonert, the Bills offense experienced a renewed commitment to its running backs and Studesville pupils Lynch and Jackson combined for 2,224 yards from scrimmage. 2009 brought about an unsettled year for the Bills offense, as Turk Schonert was fired midway through training camp with former Bills quarterback and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt being appointed in his stead. Studesville's charges saw a reversal of fortunes, as Lynch experienced injuries and off-the-field troubles leading to a suspension, and Fred Jackson led the way with 1,433 yards from scrimmage as they combined for a total of 2,062 between Jackson and Lynch. Head coach Dick Jauron was fired midway through the season and replaced by interim head coach Perry Fewell for the remainder of the season. The entire Bills staff was let go following the 2009 season.

2010–present

In January 2010, Studesville was hired by the Broncos as the running backs coach.

On December 6, 2010, then-Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels was fired by owner Pat Bowlen and Studesville was promoted to interim head coach in his place. However, the choice of Studesville to replace McDaniels was viewed by some as a surprise. Studevilles held the interim head coaching position for the final four games of the 2010 season, during which the team went 1-3, and Studesville started rookie Tim Tebow in weeks 15-17. Studesville recorded his first win as a head coach on December 26, 2010, when the Broncos defeated the Houston Texans 24-23.

Studesville has retained his position as running backs coach under four different head coaches: Josh McDaniels, John Fox, Gary Kubiak, and Vance Joseph.