LeSean McCoy Says Chip Kelly Doesn't Respect Star Players

It’s been two months since LeSean McCoy was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Buffalo Bills in one of the more shocking NFL trades in recent memory. It was Eagles head coach Chip Kelly—who’s spent his first offseason with full power over personnel decisions doing all kinds of crazy shit—who made that trade happen, and McCoy still seems to be smarting a bit.

McCoy spoke to the , and said he hasn’t talked to Kelly since being traded. He did, however, offer a theory as to why he was shipped out of town:

“I don’t think he likes or respects the stars. I’m being honest,” McCoy told The Inquirer on Monday. “I think he likes the fact that it’s ‘Chip Kelly and the Eagles.’”

[...]

“It was ‘DeSean Jackson - a high-flying, take-off-the-top-of-the-defense receiver.’ Or ‘the quick, elusive LeSean McCoy,’ “ McCoy said. “I don’t think [Kelly] likes that.”

McCoy isn’t way off base here. One of the explanations that a lot of people have reached for when trying to explain what exactly Chip Kelly’s plan is that Kelly truly believes that it is his system that makes the offense tick, and that the players within it are mostly replaceable cogs. That’s what McCoy seems to be hinting at when he says that Kelly doesn’t “respect” stars, the implication being that Kelly thinks almost any player can thrive after being plugged into his system.

Still, it’s weird to see McCoy giving icy answers about a guy whom he essentially embraced as his life coach less than a year ago. Recall this, from ESPN’s profile of Kelly last year:

Then why, McCoy asks, does Kelly badger him every day about sleep? Kelly pulls up video of practice after McCoy had registered a substandard night. “You look slow, less explosive.”

It all clicks. McCoy becomes “crazy about sleeping.” He notices how much quicker he feels at 208 pounds than he did at the 218 he was in 2012, thanks to Kelly’s nutrition program of personalized protein shakes. He feels fresher when hydrated. He even likes getting to know guys on the rides to the stadium. “When he tells me to do something, I just do it,” McCoy says now.

[...]

McCoy walks to the cake, which is topped by a football. The crowd sings, and before McCoy blows out the candles, a man with a microphone says, “Gotta think of something good,” something that “ends in a parade!”

McCoy exhales, then looks to Williams and mouths, “Can I have a piece?”

“No,” Williams says. “Two-oh-eight.”

Someone hands McCoy a slice so thick it’s falling off the plate. Williams shakes his head. McCoy smiles deviously. Williams shakes his head again. McCoy takes a bite, but just a small one.

The good news for McCoy is that Rex Ryan will probably let him eat all the cake he wants in Buffalo.

Photo via Getty