Is Chip Kelly's Handling of Personnel Leaving Players Feeling Disenchanted?

Ever since LeSean McCoy was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles, the Pro Bowl running back hasn't been able to keep Chip Kelly's name out of his mouth. McCoy's irresponsible remarks about race aside, one can understand why the franchise's all-time leading rusher might feel a bit betrayed.

Then again, the NFL is a business, a fact McCoy apparently just learned—and one Kelly already seems to understand all too well. Now that the head coach is also in control of personnel decisions, Philadelphia's front office is back to playing hardball with its employees, and a number of them are voicing their displeasure.

All-Pro left guard Evan Mathis has opted to skip voluntary OTAs over a contract dispute. Interior linebacker Mychal Kendricks isn't looking forward to potentially having his role reduced. Nickel cornerback Brandon Boykin is frustrated he hasn't had the opportunity to increase his.

And those are only a few guys who are still on the roster. McCoy wasn't alone in becoming incredulous over being shown the door this offseason, with outside linebacker Trent Cole momentarily losing his cool on Twitter in the wake of his release after a decade in Philadelphia.

It's a business, sure, and when it comes to matters of contracts and playing time, the Eagles have their reasons for reaching these decisions. Of course, that doesn't mean Kelly is handling each situation in the best way, either.

	2015 $	2015 Rk	2016 $	2016 Rk
Base Salary	$5.5 M	t-3rd	$6 M	5th
Cap Hit	$6.5 M	8th	$7 M	t-5th
Total Cash	$5.5 M	t-10th	$6 M	6th

Take Mathis, for example. He's been seeking a contract renegotiation since last year, but the team feels he's fairly compensated and allowed him to seek a trade instead. Clearly, there have been very few bites, and it's no wonder—Mathis turns 34 in November, and according to Spotrac, his base salary for 2015 is tied for third among offensive guards.

The Eagles aren't guaranteeing Mathis more money, and neither is anybody else, apparently. That being said, Kelly didn't exactly smooth things over when he was pressed about the status of trade talks at the draft, via the team website. Kelly said:

"Evan has been available to trade for two years now, and we've never had an offer for him. That's through his agent and him.  They've asked us if we can renegotiate a contract and see what he can get, and we've obliged them with that, but we've never had an offer on him."

Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports

I suppose the truth hurts, but Kelly's blunt words did nothing to help matters. We haven't heard from Mathis since, and who knows whether he even shows when workouts become mandatory.

Kendricks is at OTAs but doesn't seem too sure about his future, which must be unnerving. The budding star was the subject of trade rumors all offseason, saying to Mark Eckel of NJ.com he doesn't know whether he'll even be in Philly come September, noting the Eagles haven't offered a contract extension entering the final year of his deal.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

And why not? Kendricks is one of only three linebackers in the NFL with at least eight sacks, three interceptions and five forced fumbles over the past two seasons. Yet, Kelly traded McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso and extended DeMeco Ryans, both of whom play Kendricks' position, leaving one of the club's best defensive playmakers twisting in the wind.

Kelly was asked about Kendricks' abilities back at the owners meetings in March and naturally found an area to nitpick, per Eliot Shorr-Parks for NJ.com.

	TKL	SK	INT	FF
Kendricks	83	4.0	0	3
Alonso	-	-	-	-
Ryans	45	0.0	1	0

"I thought when he was healthy he played really well," Kelly said of Kendricks. "But we missed him for four games. The health aspect of it was a difficult thing."

Kelly just had to specify the "when he was healthy" aspect, though it was a tad hypercritical. After all, Alonso and Ryans bother suffered season-ending injuries in '15, missing a combined 24 of 32 possible games.

Kendricks took the high road when opening up about his situation. Boykin, on the other hand, is finally about to crack. After staying quiet about being limited to a nickel cornerback job the past two seasons, despite the less-than-stellar play of the starters, Boykin said to Reuben Frank for CSNPhilly.com that not starting is "getting really old."

The good news for Boykin is he is getting an opportunity to compete for the starting job. However, he didn't sound too sure about the legitimacy of the competition.

"

"We had a meeting. I talked to [Kelly]. I asked him what are the expectations for me. Everybody knows it’s the last year of my contract, and he said, ‘We're looking for you to compete for the outside spot.’

“So that's what he said. He's the coach. He's a man of his word, then I'm going to hold him accountable to that, like he does us."

"

	2013	2014
Boykin	51.0%	42.7%
Cary Williams	94.0%	99.2%
Bradley Fletcher	76.1%	90.4%

Boykin was tied for second in the NFL with six interceptions in 2013, but he only plays roughly half the defensive snaps at his current post. He hasn't been given much of a look on the outside, largely due to his height (5'10").

That's a coaching decision more than a personnel one, yet it's another example of a player who isn't exactly thrilled with the way Kelly handles things. You have to wonder with so many discontents in the locker room and around the league whether it will spread and make people think twice about joining the Eagles.

Then again, probably not. During the Andy Reid era, the Eagles would routinely clash with players over contracts, and it never had an impact outside of making headlines for the papers. Still, for all the preaching Kelly does about culture, he's not necessarily creating the most harmonious of situations.