john lewis "stub" brickels ( – ) was a high school, college and professional football coach who served as a backfield coach for the cleveland browns between 1946 and 1948. brickels began his coaching career in 1930, after graduating from wittenberg university in ohio, where he was a standout as a halfback on the school's football team. he coached high school football and basketball teams in ohio and west virginia in the 1930s and early 1940s before becoming the head basketball coach at the west virginia university in 1944. he held that post until 1945, when cleveland browns coach paul brown hired him to recruit players for the browns, a team under formation in the all-america football conference, while brown served in the u.s. navy during