Studesville pursued to replace Barrett as running backs coach

The Miami Dolphins had one of the NFL’s worst rushing attacks last season, and it apparently cost Danny Barrett his job as running backs coach.

According to a league source, Barrett’s contract wasn’t renewed, and the Dolphins are pursuing Eric Studesville to serve as his replacement.

Studesville was recently fired by the Denver Broncos, and actually interviewed for the vacant New York Giants head coaching job this month.

He has 21 years of NFL coaching experience, which includes stints with the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos, the franchise he’s been with since 2010.

Studesville served as the Bills’ run-game coordinator in 2008 and 2009 before joining Josh McDaniels staff in Denver as the running backs coach, where he was on the same staff as Dolphins head coach Adam Gase.

Gase and Studesville worked together in Denver for five seasons, and if he’s hired he’ll become the third assistant to join Miami’s staff that has worked with Gase. The Dolphins previously hired Dowell Loggains as the offensive coordinator and brought Jeremiah Washburn back as the offensive line coach. Loggains replaced Gase as the Bears offensive coordinator in 2016, and Washburn served as the assistant offensive line coach in Miami before joining the Bears staff as the lead offensive line coach last season.

Last season, the Denver Broncos ranked 12th in rushing yards per game (115.7), but ranked 18th in rushing yards per attempt (4.1). C.J. Anderson led the Broncos with 1,007 rushing yards and scored three of the team’s seven rushing touchdowns.

The Dolphins rushing attack, led by Kenyan Drake, who gained 644 yards on 133 carries, ranked 29th in rushing yards per game (86.8), and 24th in rushing yards per attempt (3.9).

Gase, who serves as Miami’s play-caller on offense, realizes he needs to improve the Dolphins offense, which ranked 25th in yards per game, last in thirddown efficiency and 28th in points scored per game.

On Twitter @omarkelly