Why Eric Studesville Is the Perfect Man to Get the Most Out of Chicago Bears' RB Room

The Bears hit a home run with the hire of Eric Studesville.

Jan 24, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Patriots 20-18 to advance to the Super Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

For the second offseason in a row, the Chicago Bears landed the best running back coach on the market. According to Chicago Tribune reporter Brad Biggs,the team hired Eric Studesville to fill the role left by Eric Bieniemy, who accepted a role to become the Chiefs' offensive coordinator.

Ben Johnson lands his Eric Bieniemy replacement. Bears are hiring Eric Studesville as RB coach per Tribune.

Spent 2 yrs together in MIA.

Studesville coached 12 different 1,000-yd RB seasons and 4 Pro Bowl RBs, including Marshawn Lynch.

Just a great hire for Chicago. pic.twitter.com/Y3fGMeaZUe

— Dave (@davebfr) February 5, 2026

This will be Studesville's second stint in Chicago, as they actually gave him his first NFL coaching opportunity. He joined the team as an offensive assistant and quality control coach in 1997 and remained with the team (as a wide receiver and assistant special teams coach) until the turn of the century.

Studesville was someone many were keeping an eye on for the position, as Biggs mentioned him as a potential option for Chicago last week. It turns out, he hit the nail on the head.

The 58-year-old is not only one of the league's most respected running back coaches, but he might be one of the most respected position coaches. He has survived countless coaching changes throughout his career, which is a testament to how respected he is amongst his peers. Most recently, he remained with the Dolphins through three head coaching tenures (Adam Gase, Brian Flores, and Mike McDaniel).

While coaching for Miami, he helped a 31-year-old Raheem Mostert have (by far) the best season of his career in 2023. The speedster led the league in rushing touchdowns (18) and reached the century mark in rushing yards for the first time in his career. His performance also earned him his first career Pro Bowl nod.

Two years later, Studesville helped De'Von Achane develop into one of the league's best running backs. He finished sixth in the league in yards from scrimmage (1838) and reached the end zone 12 times.

Kyle Monangai and D'Andre Swift might have drastically different skill sets than Achane and Mostert, but there's no reason to think that he can't have a similar impact on Chicago's potent backfield duo. They were one of the league's most productive tandems this season, and they will be playing behind an offensive line that is returning four starters next season.

More importantly, Ben Johnson is also not going anywhere anytime soon. The running backs will have continuity. There was previously some concern over losing a coach of Bieniemy's caliber, but they somehow managed to replace him with an equally proficient teacher.

An underrated aspect of hiring Studesville is that he should stick around for a bit. Despite all his success, he has never been an offensive coordinator (although his role expanded to being a 'Co-offensive coordinator' and 'Associate head coach' in Miami). It would be wildly unlucky if his first OC opportunity came shortly after becoming the Bears RB coach.

Notably (and unsurprisingly, considering the head coach turmoil he survived), he has also never spent less than three years with a team. Chicago might've just landed their RB coach for the long haul. That means something for a team that will probably be heavily poached, at least on the offensive side of the ball, for as long as Ben Johnson is running the show.

It was an absolute home run of a hire. The best-case scenario for an already talented running back room.

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