Fansided

LeSean McCoy won’t return Chip Kelly’s calls

By Stanford Crissey

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Chip Kelly has been rebuffed in his attempts to reach out to traded running back LeSean McCoy.

The Chip Kelly/LeSean McCoy saga continues.

Since his surprising trade from the Eagles in March, running back LeSean McCoy has gone on the offensive against his former coach, insinuating racism and a dislike of star players, among other things.

Kelly said he has reached out to McCoy this offseason, but the traded running back has not responded to his efforts:

Kelly also responded to McCoy’s comments that the Eagles coach “got rid of all the black players.

"“Yeah, I’ve got great respect for LeSean,” Kelly said, via NFL.com. “However, in that situation, I think he’s wrong. We put in a lot of time into looking at the characters and factors that go into the selection and retention of players and color’s never been one of them.”"

For those unaware of this ongoing saga, here are the highlights so far:

March 4: Kelly trades McCoy to the Bills for Kiko Alonso

This trade came as a huge surprise to football fans everywhere. McCoy was a successful running back who was beloved in Philly; no one really expected him to be traded

March 12: Eight days after trading McCoy, the Eagles sign DeMarco Murray

This will be important further on down this list.

April 6: McCoy says that Kelly doesn’t respect star players

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

He went on to single out his own trade and last year’s release of DeSean Jackson as examples.

Of course, McCoy fails to mention the signing of Murray, the best running back in football last year. What is Murray if not a star?

May 6: McCoy claims that Kelly “got rid of all the good black players”

“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” said McCoy.

This echoes earlier comments from ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that Kelly’s moves were “making a lot of brothers uncomfortable.” Of course Smith isn’t exactly who you want in your corner when trying to prove a point. Also, his comments seem to be overlooking that many of Kelly’s offseason moves brought black players to the Eagles, including the signing of Murray (along with Byron Maxwell, Ryan Mathews, Walter Thurmond, and plenty of others). If Kelly is trying to build a roster bereft of black stars, he’s doing a horrendous job of it.

Racism is (obviously) a tricky subject, especially to deal with from a distance. Maybe there was something McCoy saw from Kelly while he was there, or just a vibe he got. But McCoy doesn’t seem to have any specific evidence of racism, and just because he perceives something doesn’t mean that’s what Kelly’s really doing.

Basically what I’m saying: we don’t really know, but there isn’t a lot to suggest that McCoy is right about Kelly.

Next: 30 greatest running backs in NFL history

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