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Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski revealed in a new interview that when fans tell him that Nick Chubb is their favorite player, his response is always, “Mine too.”
Kevin Stefanski Says Nick Chubb is a ‘No Maintenance’ Kind of Guy
On Barstool Sports podcast “Pardon My Take,” the hosts were commenting that Nick Chubb seems like a good guy but a little inscrutable.
“He’s definitely more talkative when he’s comfortable,” assured the Browns head coach, adding, “He’s a man of few words.”
He went on to say that Chubb is a “unique” player because he is so low maintenance. In fact, he’s “no maintenance.”
“I always tell people he’s not low maintenance, he’s no maintenance,” said Stefanski. “He shows up, he doesn’t wear gloves, he’s always wearing what he’s supposed to wear out at practice … whatever you ask him to do, he’s just gonna do it. He’s got personality off the field, I just don’t think he lets people in very easily.”
Stefanski also said that around town, he always hears from fans, “Nick Chubb’s my favorite player,” and he replies, “Mine too.”
He also praised the offensive line protecting Chubb, saying that not many teams have that kind of combination and can lean so hard on their O-line and star running back.
“We’re unique in having Nick Chubb and having that offensive line. I think the fun part for us is running the ball in the fourth quarter when you have that lead and you can go lean on people, which not many teams have that luxury,” said Stefanski, adding, “There’s certainly high leverage moments down near the goal line, third down, you’re always thinking about Nick Chubb.”
Kevin Stefanski Also Talked About the Browns’ Running Game vs Their Passing Game
Deshaun Watson will be back at quarterback with the Browns in the 2023 season, his first full season since 2020 with the Houston Texans. The “Pardon My Take” hosts were curious if Stefanski is going to “let it fly” with Watson or if they’ll run the ball with Chubb to set up Watson’s passing game. Stefanski had an interesting take on that, saying they want to do both.
“That’s a fallacy, you don’t have to establish the run to throw it,” said the head coach, adding, “I think play-action’s been proven that you don’t need to have a good run attack or be running the ball to get the linebackers to set … There’s a lot of good data behind it.”
But for Stefanski, it ultimately comes down to his players and he thinks the Browns have it all on the offensive side of the ball.
“Honestly, going back to just our players, we’re fortunate to have Nick [Chubb], we got David Njoku, who I think is as good a tight end as there is in the league, so to be able to be balanced, I think is ultimately the best thing you can be when it comes to offensive football,” said the coach.
When asked if it’s more important to protect their own quarterback or heat up the opposing quarterback — and he can only pick one — Stefanski said heating up the opposing quarterback because when you’ve got a defensive end as good as Myles Garrett, that’s what youd o.
“I’d probably [pick] heat up the quarterback. We have Myles Garrett, that’s always gonna be a big part of what we do,” said Stefanski.