Imagine the shock that LeSean McCoy must have felt being traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to the Buffalo Bills back in March.
"Shady" had just rushed for 1,319 yards — the third-best among running backs during the 2014 season. Born and raised in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, McCoy played college ball at Pittsburgh and spent all six years of his NFL career to date in Philadelphia — so the "Keystone State" is all LeSean McCoy has ever known.
So, why trade a 26-year-old star rusher in his prime? Well, McCoy is pretty sure he knows — and he's outright pointing his finger at Eagles coach Chip Kelly, accusing him of running "all the good black players" out of town and off the team.
"The relationship was never really great," McCoy said, in an ESPN The Magazine feature story. "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," McCoy added. "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."
That's quite the statement. Kelly did release star wideout DeSean Jackson last summer – months before releasing McCoy – and wideout Jeremy Maclin wound up leaving Philadelphia to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs. All three star players are black.
The Eagles did however sign Riley Cooper to a five-year, $25-million extension in February 2014 — in spite of his dropping the N-word at a country music concert back in July 2013. Cooper is white. Kelly and the Eagles wound up signing DeMarco Murray – the NFL's top rusher – after trading McCoy to the Bills. Murray is black.
McCoy told ESPN that he's not the only one questioning Kelly's motives.
"Oh, man. People have heard it. I mean... Stephen A. Smith has talked about it. Other players have talked about it," he said. "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," McCoy continued. "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."
On ESPN's First Take on Wednesday morning, Smith said he reached out to the Eagles to interview Kelly, but his call was never returned. ESPN The Magazine said the same in its McCoy feature piece. Smith has also implied that Kelly has felt the heat about his moves and reacted by purposely signing Murray.
McCoy's Bills will face the Eagles in Philadelphia on December 13.
Is this something that Kelly is going to have to address at some point before then?
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