The divorce between Chip Kelly and LeSean McCoy just took a turn for the worse.
McCoy, speaking to ESPN the Magazine, had the following to say about his relationship with Chip Kelly:
The relationship was never really great. I feel like I always respected him as a coach. I think that’s the way he runs his team. He wants the full control. You see how fast he got rid of all the good players. Especially all the good black players. He got rid of them the fastest. That’s the truth. There’s a reason. … It’s hard to explain with him. But there’s a reason he got rid of all the black players — the good ones — like that.
This follows comments made by former Eagles coach and player Tra Thomas, who suggested that players on the Eagles roster felt there was a hint of racism with the roster makeover led by Kelly.
I'm not in the locker room, so I can't speak to how Kelly acts towards African American players. Perhaps they are looking at the unproductive Riley Cooper still on the roster, who was caught saying the "n word" on video, and see a hint of racial profiling going on.
But it seems somewhat misplaced. Cooper's $5.5 million is fully guaranteed, so the Eagles would be on the hook for his entire salary if he was cut. The Eagles also cut Todd Herremens and James Casey, and are looking to trade All Pro Guard Evan Mathis.
What's more, the statement ignores that 12 of the players signed or resigned this offseason, and five of the six players drafted by the Eagles, are African American. The Eagles are filled with prominent African Americans such DeMeco Ryans, DeMarco Murray, Malcolm Jenkins, Jason Peters, Darren Sproles, Byron Maxwell — all of whom were brought in or signed to extensions under Chip Kelly.
And while I am not in the locker room, Malcolm Jenkins is, and he came to Kelly's defense after the Tra Thomas comments surfaced:
Is it too late to tell these guys "Philly ain't bad at all" … Chip is a great guy! And who doesn't like sports science and Cheesesteaks?
— Malcolm Jenkins (@MalcolmJenkins) March 10, 2015
Josh Huff, who has called Chip Kelly a father figure, equally came to Kelly's defense
@BogaertsTheGawd far from it.
— OSOM™ (@Huff_Era_1) March 10, 2015
Again, I can't say for certain that McCoy's comments are wrong. But from an outsiders perspective, it seems that McCoy is just bitter about the Eagles trading him and is doing everything he can to bring Kelly down.
Patrick Causey is a writer at Eagledelphia and can be followed on Twitter @PhillySportsJD
