LeSean McCoy's return to Philadelphia is the talking point of the week. And is the week approaches its end and the actual game between the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles draws closer, the "relationship" between Chip Kelly and McCoy continues to be a continuous theme.
Kelly spoke on Thursday and talked in detail about what went wrong in the trade process, even apologizing to McCoy. McCoy had said earlier this week that he would not shake Kelly's hand.
"That's his choice, and I understand that," Kelly said. "How he was traded wasn't handled right, and I've said that before. I did not get an opportunity to talk to him, and it's a lesson that we should never do, to be honest with you. We were told that the trade wasn't initiated and wouldn't be initiated until the next morning, so there were no phone calls to be made, and then all of the sudden, I'm driving to an event and he's been traded. I felt bad that I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I called him. He didn't answer my phone call. I know he was pissed and he should be pissed, rightly so.
"Every player that's ever left this team, I've talked to them personally myself. Everyone that's in town, we talk to them individually here in our office. I talk to them, the coordinator talks to them, the position coach talks to them. We have a way that we do it that I think is the right way to do it, and it wasn't exercised in that case and I understand why he's bothered."
Kelly went on to explain the proper process he chooses to exercise.
"When we traded for Sam [Bradford] and for Nick [Foles] with Jeff Fisher, it was a great situation," Kelly said. "Jeff and me were both on the phone together and said, ‘Alright, when are you going to make the call? Let's call now. When we're done with our phone calls with our players, text each other.’ He texted me he was done. I texted him I was done. I then called Sam, he then called Nick. That's the way it should have been done.
"It wasn't handled that way with LeSean, and I understand why he's not happy about it, and he should not be happy about it. And I would apologize for that, because it didn't happen the right way. But from our standpoint, we thought the trade wasn’t going to be initiated until the next morning, so there was no phone call to be made until the league approves the trade. I understand where he's coming from and if he doesn't want to shake my hand, I understand that. But I will always shake his hand."
McCoy joined Mike Missanelli and Brian Westbrook on 97.5 The Fanatic on Friday afternoon to discuss his mindset entering the game and if there is still any ill will toward Kelly.
"I'm definitely passed it," McCoy said. "I can respect [the apology]. But that's in the past. I have no issues with Chip at all."
McCoy was also asked if the apology from Chip changes anything.
"Not at all," McCoy said. "I just think shaking hands isn't really needed. Listen, I don't know why it's such a big deal not shaking the guys hand.
"I have respect for him as a coach, but I don't want to be shaking hands. We never had a relationship anyway to be doing that. I've never been in this situation. This is emotion. Knowing everyone on the other side. But I can't forget my new teammates."
McCoy, who has been a part of the Eagles media scene all season, even as a member of the Bills, will likely hear some boos on Sunday for his general reaction to everything that happened in the offseason. Despite that, he had some nice things to say about Eagles fans.
"One thing I can say is all the years I was there, I put it on the line," McCoy said. "Boos or cheers, it don't mean a difference. My love and respect [for Eagles fans] won't change. I had a blast. I loved the days when we weren't playing well and they would boo us to get us going. I have a lot of love and respect for them."
You can listen to the full interview here.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
