Stump Mitchell made this much clear: He likes Clinton Portis. He also made this clear: He wishes Portis had worked harder.
“Clinton knows that [he must work harder],” Mitchell said. “He’s a headstrong individual. He can go out and get it done and sometimes he will, but he wasn’t getting the most out of his ability this past season because he did not prepare as well as I think he should have.”
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Mitchell coached Portis for the past two seasons and accepted the head coaching position at Southern University today. He interviewed with Mike Shanahan today as well, but Mitchell blames himself for the lack of production at running back this season.
But knowing how many players were disappointed in Portis this season, it’s hard to blame the position coach. Mitchell also criticized Portis to the Washington Post earlier today.
“I love the way he plays the game at times,” Mitchell told the Examiner. “But he’s not the guy he used to be in terms of being a young guy. He still can achieve even more than in his best year; he still has that ability. But in order to get that done you have to prepare to do that because most of these guys during the offseason, that’s what they’re doing. Some of these guys are spending money at places away from their facility because in their minds they need something different and they’re busting their butt in order to get that done.”
It’s uncertain who will take over for Mitchell this season. But Mitchell hopes that coach gets a better offseason effort from Portis, who already was sent a message by Shanahan at his first press conference.
Mitchell seemed to take things more personally than his star running back. When Portis was not named one of the league’s top 10 backs by one publication entering this past season, Mitchell was disappointed.
“That was a hurting deal,” Mitchell said, “because now they’re saying they know Clinton better than I do. I wanted to prove those naysayers wrong. But they were right. I hope Clinton takes it to heart.
“I love Clinton. He’s a warrior. He could be the best back in the league. He blocks better than Adrian Peterson. He has to improve his running skills, but all he needs to do is work at that.”
