Stump Mitchell admits he might have had one of the cushiest jobs in the NFL coaching Cleveland Browns star running back Nick Chubb.
Mitchell spent five seasons as the Browns’ running backs coach before being fired on January 17. He’s made the media rounds since being let go and dropped some insight on what it’s like to coach Chubb.
“Just like Nick — quiet,” Mitchell said while appearing on The BIGPLAY Cleveland Show. “All I had to do was identify what little weaknesses he had. And I don’t think he had many.”
Mitchell noted that one of those areas where he wanted to see Chubb improve was as a receiver. Chubb has always been a bell-cow back but his impact in the passing game was limited. The Browns wanted to change that this past season.
“I was excited about this training camp because he was fabulous. Probably the best route runner we had,” Mitchell said. “He had four receptions in the first game. I thought it was going to be a heck of a year and I told Nick during the summer that I think he should have over 80 receptions because he was so fantastic at running screens. I thought he could have been a 1,000-1,000 yard guy.
Chubb is currently recovering from a devastating knee injury he suffered in Week 2 that required a pair of surgeries. He was on pace for another big year before getting banged up, rushing for 170 yards on 28 carries — good for a 6.1 yards per carry average.
Chubb has earned the reputation of being one of the most consistent rushers in the league. He piled up 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns during the 2022 season. It was his fourth consecutive season rushing for over 1,000 yards, and his career 5.3 per carry average is among the NFL’s elite.
The Browns face a decision with Chubb this offseason due to his contract. He’s set to count $15.8 million against the cap and the Browns could save nearly $12 million by parting ways. However, the franchise hopes that Chubb will stick around and regain his All-Pro form.
“Nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh be the last time he carries the ball for the Cleveland Browns,” Browns general manager Andrew Berry said on January 22. “And obviously there are things that we’ll have to work through, but that would not be our intention as well. We obviously will work to keep him on the team.”
Mitchell had nothing but good things to say about Chubb. The same could not be said for Kareem Hunt.
The Browns re-signed Hunt in September after Chubb’s injury. He finished last season with 135 carries for 411 yards and a team-high 9 rushing touchdowns. He added two more scores in the postseason. Hunt has spent five seasons with the Browns, with Mitchell as his position coach for all of those seasons. Mitchell never felt he got the best out of him.
“Well, the thing that I couldn’t do while I was there is get the best out of Kareem. If they bring him back, I hope the next coach will be able to get the best out of Kareem,” Mitchell told Justice. “As a coach, all you want to do is to make a player better, but I wasn’t able to get him to not be the last guy in meetings, not to be out at practice on time. Kareem is a hell of a player, but this is a team game, you know.”
Hunt will test the waters in free agency this offseason.
