Eagles owner says Riley Cooper incident proved Chip Kelly’ leadership
By Mike Dyce
The Philadelphia Eagles and new head coach Chip Kelly have won the NFC East and are headed to the playoffs. The coach has made an impact on the field, but owner Jeffrey Lurie points to his field leadership to point out how he is a leader. Specifically the summer scandal involving wide receiver Riley Cooper.
“He brings people together, and he’s dynamic,” Lurie said of Kelly, via Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Cooper’s a good example, a really good example.”
Kelly had a plan and helped smooth things out with the team after Cooper was caught using a racial slur on camera.
“Chip had a plan of how to deal with the humanness of it all,” Lurie said. “He really was able to help get the team together through the adversity. That’s what you have to do in the NFL, because you’re always going to have things like that.
“It wasn’t sort of a knee-jerk reaction. It was a thoughtful reaction, and he understands the locker room and the players and the chemistry and what needed to be done. It wasn’t like he was a populist politician or something. It’s about true leadership, not superficial leadership.”