ENGLEWOOD, Colo. » The Denver Broncos have fired coach Josh McDaniels, whose nearly two-year stint was marred by the Spygate II videotape scandal, a series of personnel blunders and the franchise’s worst skid in four decades.

Running backs coach Eric Studesville will serve as interim coach for the final month, succeeding McDaniels, 34, whose hiring by team owner Pat Bowlen in January 2009 is now viewed by some as a mistake.

"My decision to relieve Josh McDaniels as head coach was not taken lightly. I will always be appreciative of his passion, enthusiasm and hard work, and I thank him for his efforts," Bowlen said in a statement after firing McDaniels with two years left on his contract.

"In the end, I was not satisfied with the results and the direction this team was headed. The decision to make a change was extremely difficult, but one that needed to be made for this organization and our fans," Bowlen added. "Everyone, myself included, is accountable for our disappointing season and is now responsible for restoring the culture of winning that has been established by this franchise."

McDaniels becomes the third coach fired during the season, all in the past month. The Dallas Cowboys fired Wade Phillips on Nov. 8, and promoted Jason Garrett to interim coach, and two weeks later, the Minnesota Vikings fired Brad Childress and promoted Leslie Frazier to replace him.

The two new coaches have a combined 5-1 record since taking over, and the Broncos (3-9) are likely hoping Studesville can inject some life into the team to close out this lost season.

"I am very appreciative of the trust that Mr. Bowlen and the entire Denver Broncos organization have shown in me," Studesville said in a statement.

Studesville, 43, was in his first season in Denver after coaching the running backs in Buffalo from 2004 to 2009 following a three-year stint (2001-03) in that same capacity with the New York Giants. He began his NFL coaching career in 1997 with the Chicago Bears after working six years at the collegiate level.

The players learned of McDaniels’ firing via Twitter, where the Broncos announced it, and text messages.

"Guys are trying to figure out if it’s true, if it’s not true, what’s going on," wide receiver Brandon Lloyd said on his weekly radio show on Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan in Denver. "The second thing we started thinking about is now who can be the coach?"

McDaniels had nearly $7 million left on his contract, and Bowlen is still on the hook for millions more he owes Mike Shanahan, whom he fired last year. That means he’ll be paying three head coaches next season unless the organization decides to withhold salaries for 2011 and ’12 based on a violation of the deal, such as a morals clause.

After winning his first six games his rookie season, McDaniels, a disciple of New England coach Bill Belichick, lost 17 of his last 22 games with the Broncos in his first NFL head coaching job.

He had plenty of off-the-field issues, too, including the videotaping violation and linebacker D.J. Williams’ drunken driving charge that caused him to get stripped of his captaincy.

Before he was fired, McDaniels said he was reticent to turn to rookie Tim Tebow even though the Broncos had been eliminated from contention with a 10-6 loss at Kansas City, their seventh loss in eight games.