LeSean McCoy continued to run his mouth. On Wednesday, an interview with ESPN The Magazine came to light with McCoy saying that Chip Kelly "got rid of all the good black players" on the Eagles.
Kevin Clark, an NFL writer for the Wall Street Journal, noted that Kelly would have been the talking point of the NFL yesterday if it had not been for the Wells Report, the New England Patriots and Tom Brady.
Chip Kelly was thisclose to a media firestorm and now no one cares. Timing is everything, folks.
— Kevin Clark (@KevinClarkWSJ) May 6, 2015
Which may be very true. Yet, this is one of the most ridiculous discussions that will happen around the Philadelphia Eagles this season.
LeSean McCoy is a Buffalo Bill. He no longer plays for the Eagles, he no longer wears an Eagles uniform and he is no longer their business. All the more reason he should mind his own.
There's no question Buffalo got one of the top running backs in football via trade with the Eagles. But if I'm the Bills, I'm more and more concerned about how much this seems to be in McCoy's head.
Three times now, McCoy has talked about how Kelly doesn't respect star players or the rumblings of a strained relationship between the coach and running back. McCoy started it all by posting a message of thanks to the fans of Philadelphia a week after the trade, also thanking owner Jeffrey Lurie and former coach Andy Reid. No mention of Chip Kelly, who was his coach for two seasons.
Sure, McCoy had a bit of an ego in Philadelphia – not on a T.O. level by any stretch – but this is extreme. This is T.O. doing interviews from his driveway in a cry for attention.
McCoy's getting the attention to a degree. He's trying to make this a story where he is the victim. Instead, he's the villain.
Remember a few seasons ago, as McCoy grew into an NFL superstar. He had 17 rushing touchdowns in 2011. He followed that up with a record-setting season in 2013, the first under Kelly, scoring nine touchdowns and rushing for a franchise-record 1,607 yards. He is the all-time leading rusher in franchise history. And he was treated like precious cargo.
McCoy's finest moments were the big plays. He'd unleash a huge touchdown run against the Cowboys – we'd marvel. He'd put a move on a defender or fight his way for the extra yard and a first down – we'd marvel. And the Snow Bowl – that was just the icing on the cake. Games like that don't come often, and we all knew it.
This beloved Eagle is now becoming the hated former Eagle. Think about it – for years, this was the player that the Eagles couldn't afford to lose. If there was an injury scare, panic spread like wildfire across the fanbase. It was the jersey everyone wanted to have.
Now, the more McCoy continues to push the issue of Chip Kelly, racism and a frustrated and childish stance on why he's not an Eagle anymore, the more the Eagles should be thankful they made this move.
McCoy's only concern should be how he's going to help the Buffalo Bills next season – which includes finding a way to beat Kelly and the Eagles, a meeting that becomes more and more intriguing by the day. Instead, he's trying to analyze why he was moved out of Philadelphia and what Chip Kelly's motive is.
Yes, the question keeps coming up in interviews to him, but he also is reading into it more than he should. The more he talks, the more misinformed he sounds.
So Chip Kelly is a racist, huh? Chip Kelly got rid of all the good black players, huh? Just look at the roster.
Kelly didn't rid the Eagles of those players. He replaced them. Goodbye DeSean Jackson, hello Jordan Matthews. Goodbye Jeremy Maclin, hello Nelson Agholor. Goodbye LeSean McCoy, hello DeMarco Murray.
And the list goes on. Ask Malcolm Jenkins or DeMeco Ryans or Mychal Kendricks or Fletcher Cox if they think Chip Kelly is a racist. How about Jason Peters or Darren Sproles? Or just ask the new draft class of Eric Rowe, JaCorey Shepherd, Jordan Hicks and Randall Evans or free-agent acquisitions Byron Maxwell, Walter Thurmond and Ryan Mathews.
Sorry, Shady, but your argument holds no weight.
But it is the classic case of today's society. Say something in jest or do something as a business decision and if there is a pattern that hints at racial, ethnic, gender or other discrimination, they will hold it against you. You instantly embody a person that has no morals, reputations stained and tarnished by one incident.
There may be some ill will towards Chip Kelly coming from McCoy, but as Kelly said, this was business. There's no other way to look at it, McCoy regressed last season. He didn't perform nearly the same as he did in his first season under Kelly. And Kelly took notice.
Kelly is making this team what he envisions will become a championship team. That meant upgrades on defense, and farewell to some fan favorites.
Chances are, if you don't see Kelly's vision, you don't belong with the Eagles. That all seems to be true. But this is still a relatively new coach with an unprecedented style that has the admiration of so many in the world of football.
So if you are going to be a distraction, you might as well play somewhere else. It's what happened to DeSean Jackson. And now it's what is happening to LeSean McCoy.
Better Buffalo's distraction than Philadelphia's.
Kevin Durso is a contributing writer and editorial assistant for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
