BEREA — There's not much Nick Chubb can do in terms of on-field football-related activities as the Browns running back continues to recover from two knee surgeries last year. However, that hasn't lessened the ability he has to serve as a hands-on leader among the other running backs.

"It does, but I can tell you (running backs coach) Duce (Staley) holds everyone accountable in that room, so I don't have to say much at all," Chubb said Wednesday. "He's on it every day. He's making sure we're finishing, working hard, ball security. He takes control."

There's been a number of changes within the Browns since Chubb suffered the season-ending knee injury in Week 2 of last season.

Maybe the biggest one for the running backs was the hiring of Staley as part of the massive offensive coaching staff overhaul. That overhaul included the dismissal of Stump Mitchell, who was beloved among the Browns' running backs since being hired as their position coach by Freddie Kitchens in 2019.

"I was blessed to have two great coaches here on the Browns, and I definitely will miss Stump," Chubb said. "We stay in touch. He's a great person, a great coach, just overall a great guy. And also with Duce, I mean, he brings the energy. Every day he's himself. He loves the game, he loves to coach us and he's doing a great job. He's going to help us out a lot, not just running backs, but the entire team.”

Staley, who played 10 years with the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, has been a coach in the league since 2011. His most recent stop was last season with the Carolina Panthers, where he was both assistant head coach and running backs coach before being let go when head coach Frank Reich was fired midseason.

The wealth of knowledge Staley brought to the coaching staff was evident by the amount of input he's had since arriving in Cleveland. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has said several times in recent months that, despite a new offensive coordinator in Ken Dorsey, the design of the offensive scheme has been a "collaborative effort."

"Yeah, it starts with Kevin," Staley said Wednesday. "Kevin got all of us involved. You know, when you look around the league over so many years, you have the coordinator, you have the head coach, and that's where it starts and stops. But Kevin is giving us all a part of that coordinator side. You know, Ken is the guy of course, Ken is running his offense, but we're all involved with the plays. We're all involved in game planning."

For now, those game plans won't involve the four-time Pro Bowler Chubb. He remains on the road to recovery from tears to the anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, the medial capsule and his meniscus.

Despite the uncertain timetable for Chubb's return, Staley dove head-first into working with who he does have right now. That includes two of the backs who replaced Chubb last season — leading rusher Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. — as well as veteran free-agent signees Nyheim Hines and D'Onta Foreman.

"Those guys are working their butts off, and they love being here," Staley said. "You know, during this time, they could be anywhere. At the beach, vacation — no, they're walking through those doors every day working, and that's what we want."

Staley arrived in Cleveland with a reputation for being a high-energy coach. Nothing that has been seen during the handful of workouts open to the media — two rookie minicamp days and three OTAs — would push back against that narrative.

Then again, that's kind of the point with Staley.

"Well, here's what coaching is to me, OK, here's one — putting these guys in the best position possible to make plays, No. 1," Staley said. "Two, getting them to run through a brick wall with me and not for me. 'Cause I'm gonna run through it first, if they decide to come along I got the right guys, that's it. One and two.”

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Duce Staley winning over Nick Chubb, Browns running backs