Curtis Modkins (born November 15, 1970) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach who is the current

running backs A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. There a ...

coach and run game coordinator for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). A 25-year coaching veteran, Modkins has spent the last 12 years in the NFL as an

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

or running backs coach. He has worked with four different 1,000-yard rushers during that span: C. J. Spiller with Buffalo in 2012,

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush II (born March 2, 1985) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning consensus All-American honors twice and winning the 2005 Heisman Trophy. Bush is wide ...

with Detroit in 2013, Jordan Howard with Chicago in 2017 and

Phillip Lindsay Phillip Lindsay (born July 24, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was born in Denver, Colorado, grew up in Aurora, Colorado, and attended South High School ...

with Denver in 2018–19.

Playing career

Modkins attended

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

(TCU), where he was a three-year starting running back for the

TCU Horned Frogs football The TCU Horned Frogs football team represents Texas Christian University (TCU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Horned Frogs play their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on the ...

team. He rushed for 2,763 yards and caught 54 passes during his college career, and was a two-time all-

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

selection.

Coaching career

College years

Modkins began his coaching career as a

graduate assistant A graduate assistant serves in a support role at a university, usually while completing post-graduate education. The assistant typically helps professors with instructional responsibilities as teaching assistants or with academic research resp ...

at his alma mater,

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

in 1995. He was promoted to the position of secondary coach in 1996 and then coached the Horned Frogs' tight ends in 1997. Modkins spent the next four seasons coaching cornerbacks at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

before arriving at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. Modkins spent time learning under head coach

Chan Gailey Thomas Chandler Gailey Jr. (born January 5, 1952) is a former American football coach. Most recently in 2020, he was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Gailey has previously served as the hea ...

(while they were at

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

). After Gailey went to

to become its next head coach, Modkins followed, becoming the coach of both running backs and

defensive backs In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

NFL

When Gailey was fired from Georgia Tech in 2007, Modkins went with him to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, to coach running backs. Gailey became the Chiefs'

. Modkins left his spot with the Chiefs to coach the same position for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

in 2009. In 2010, Modkins became the offensive coordinator for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. As offensive coordinator for Buffalo from 2010 to 2012, Modkins directed a unit in which quarterback

Ryan Fitzpatrick Ryan Joseph Fitzpatrick (born November 24, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Fitzpatrick started at quarterback for nine teams, the ...

topped 3,000 passing yards each season and wide receiver

Stevie Johnson Steven John Johnson Jr. (born July 22, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Johnson was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft ...

reached the 1,000-yard mark in each season. Modkins was dismissed, along with the entire Bills coaching staff, on December 31, 2012. On January 14, 2013, Modkins was hired as the running backs coach of the Detroit Lions. On January 22, 2016, Modkins was hired by the San Francisco 49ers as their new offensive coordinator. Modkins helped the team finish fourth in the NFL in rushing offense (126.2) and ranked second in the NFL in red zone efficiency (68.2%). Modkins joined the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

as their running backs coach in 2017. Modkins helped Jordan Howard rank sixth in the NFL with 1,122 rushing yards while totaling five 100-yard rushing games. Modkins reached an agreement with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

on January 4, 2018, to be their new RB coach. Modkins took a leave of absence from the team on October 17, 2020, after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, and returned to the team by October 28. Modkins was relived of his duties after the firing of head coach

Vic Fangio Victor John Fangio (born August 22, 1958) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Fangio also served as the head coach of the Denver Broncos. A ...

. Modkins was hiring by

Kevin O'Connell (American football) Kevin William O'Connell (born May 25, 1985), nicknamed "KOC", is an American professional football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). O'Connell played college footba ...

to be the new Running Backs coach for the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modkins, Curtis Living people 1970 births American football running backs Arizona Cardinals coaches Buffalo Bills coaches Chicago Bears coaches Detroit Lions coaches Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football coaches Kansas City Chiefs coaches NFL offensive coordinators New Mexico Lobos football coaches San Francisco 49ers coaches TCU Horned Frogs football coaches TCU Horned Frogs football players People from Marlin, Texas Players of American football from Falls County, Texas Minnesota Vikings coaches Coaches of American football from Texas