LeSean McCoy: Chip Kelly got rid of 'all the good black players'
Now several months removed from a trade that sent him from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Buffalo Bills, star running back LeSean McCoy isn't holding back when it comes to his now-former team.
McCoy discussed the deal at length in a recent sit-down interview with ESPN The Magazine, touching on a number of issues surrounding the move that took the football world, and the running back himself, by complete surprise.
Among the most notable comments from McCoy were those that came when addressing his relationship with Chip Kelly. In particular, the running back appeared to take issue with both the control the Eagles' head coach had and the way in which he carried out his personnel decisions.
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. (The Eagles declined to comment on McCoy's statements.)
It's a startling comment from McCoy and one that will certainly have to be dissected further both from his perspective as well as that of Kelly and the Eagles.
Asked if he was alone in this line of thinking, McCoy explained the idea further.
Oh, man. People have heard it. I mean ... Stephen A. Smith has talked about it. Other players have talked about it. But that's one of the things where you don't even care no more. I'm on a new team, ready to play. So it's nothing to do with Chip. I have no hatred toward him, nothing to say negative about him. When he got (to Philadelphia), I didn't know what to expect. When he let DeSean go last year, I was like: "C'mon. DeSean Jackson?" So it is what it is.
McCoy went on to express love for Eagles fans and an excitement for what's to come with his new start in Buffalo, but his feelings on Kelly are certainly what stand out most.