Driven by a shared vision for a violent brand of football, Eric Studesville reunites with Ben Johnson to help enhance the Chicago Bears' running game.
Chicago Bears running backs coach Eric Studesville and coach Ben Johnson see eye to eye when it comes to having a strong, violent running game.
"I'm all for it," Studesville told reporters at Halas Hall on Thursday.
It makes sense that the two coaches view the game through a similar lens. Johnson and Studesville overlapped for two seasons (2017-18) while they were a part of the Miami Dolphins' organization. Johnson coached the wide receivers while Studesville worked with the running backs.
“I think it was an opportunity that when it came up, it was an opportunity to go and work for somebody, work with somebody, work for somebody that you knew before, who is obviously on a very upward tick in where, in what he's doing here with the Bears, and it was an opportunity where he said, ‘I'd like for you to come in, I think you have value that you can help us with some things,’" Studesville told reporters. "And my whole purpose, I want to come and be a part of something, and so I'm trying to bring all I have to this to help Ben in every way I can. That’s in this offense, in this team, in this organization. That’s always been my thing, that's why we play a team sport, that's why you get in it, that you want to be part of something, and Ben gave me an opportunity to be a part of something, and I believe in what he's doing, I believe in him, and it was a great opportunity.”
This is Studesville's second stint with the Bears. The veteran coach served as the offensive quality control coach and offensive assistant for two seasons (1997-98) before becoming the wide receivers coach and assistant special teams coach the following two years.
Studesville did acknowledge he did speak with some other people when potential coaching opportunities were being brought up, but he felt Chicago "was the best thing for me and my family to do right now" after spending the last eight seasons with the Dolphins.
The Bears finished as the No. 3 rushing team in the NFL last season (2,345 yards) and had the third-most explosive runs, 10-yards or more, with 67. Studesville takes over a backfield that includes D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who were coached by one of the more established position coaches in the league last season, Eric Bieniemy.
Studesville hopes to enhance what the running backs did last season instead of teaching new things. Studesville is not looking to completely overhaul the room in his image. The veteran coach considers Bieniemy a "close, close friend," but they are not the same, as Studesville enters his second stint in Chicago with his own unique experiences after 28 years of coaching in the NFL.
Over his long-standing career, Studesville has coached running backs to reach 1,000-yard seasons 12 times. Dolphins running back De'Von Achane eclipsed that make last season and finished with the fifth-most rushing yards in the NFL (1,350).
“I think I'm just myself," Studesville said. "I go in there. I have a philosophy of how I like to do things, of how I see things. I have to obviously tailor that to Ben and Press, and what this offense requires, and what they want me to do, and that is first and foremost in that, and we talk through those things, and then the things that are the foundations and fundamentals of this offense, we're going to continue to do those things, and we're going to build on all the little things.”
