LeSean McCoy Discusses Relationship with Chip Kelly

The Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills face off Sunday, and both teams are still squarely in the postseason race heading into 2015’s stretch run. However, playoff implications could take a backseat in the storyline department because Bills running back LeSean McCoy will have the opportunity to face his old team and coach Chip Kelly for the first time since he was traded.

Philadelphia traded him to the Buffalo Bills in March for linebacker Kiko Alonso, which sparked some head-turning discussion from the franchise’s all-time leading rusher (6,792 yards). However, McCoy didn’t seem upset with Kelly in recent comments made to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

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I don't have no issue with him. There's no problem. I don't hate him. It's nothing like that. It's just that he wants things done a certain way. He doesn't care about the player and how he feels about it. He's the coach, so I guess I can understand that type of thinking.

Maybe I'm just different. Certain things I might ask him or talk to him about—he's probably not used to. We ain't like best friends or that, but we're no enemies.

"

The McLane report noted that McCoy said he still has not talked to Kelly since the trade. 

Joe Buscaglia of WKBW provided McCoy's candid response when asked about Kelly wanting to shake his hand (warning: video contains offensive language):

On Sunday, McLane reported Kelly attempted to call McCoy this week, but McCoy hung up the phone after Kelly identified himself. Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports confirmed the report.

McCoy also said that restructuring his contract was never brought up prior to the trade, via Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News.

McCoy talked about DeMarco Murray, who signed with the Eagles this offseason to fill the void left after McCoy was traded, per McLane: "I will say this: I think Chip knows what type of back he wants because he's been running that offense since Oregon. It's not my call to say, 'I'm the guy or DeMarco is.' I can't answer that. I will say about DeMarco, I think he's a good player. He finishes his runs really hard."

Murray is averaging 3.5 yards per carry this season compared to McCoy's 4.6.

McLane also discussed McCoy’s past comments regarding Kelly and pointed out the running back said in April that "Kelly didn’t like or respect the stars on the team—e.g. McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin.”

Mike Rodak of ESPN.com passed along another quote from McCoy that appeared in a story in ESPN The Magazine in May:

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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.

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McCoy’s remarks drew plenty of attention as Kelly attempted to continue establishing himself as a winning coach in the NFL after finishing 10-6 in each of his first two seasons. Kelly was winning, but McCoy, Jackson and Maclin were some of the best players on the team, and the running back offered a controversial opinion for why they were no longer Eagles.

However, McCoy’s apparent ill will toward Kelly appears to be a thing of the past, given his recent comments.

As for the Eagles, they certainly have McCoy circled as a dangerous playmaker for the upcoming game. A number of defenders discussed their impending encounter with the former Philadelphia star with Julie Bacanskas of PhiladelphiaEagles.com, including safety Malcolm Jenkins:

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I’m sure he’s had this game circled on his calendar since he got to Buffalo. It’s one of those things, you don’t really talk about it because you can’t look toward that game until that week comes up and then you also don’t want to make it about yourself, but this is going to be special for him.

"

Considering McCoy topped 100 total yards in each of his last six games, the Eagles' 27th-ranked run defense could be in trouble if he truly does have this game circled.