LeSean McCoy and Chip Kelly didn't part ways from the Philadelphia Eagles on the best of terms. McCoy, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, was dumped last offseason in a straight-up trade for linebacker Kiko Alonso. McCoy's reaction in the wake of that, and the comments he's made since, smack of sour grapes, but also of a player who maybe didn't believe in every aspect of Kelly's "innovative" program - a program that was supposed to revolutionize the NFL, but wound up getting Kelly fired after a second straight playoff-less season with the Eagles. With McCoy still in Buffalo and Kelly the newly appointed head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, the vitriol between the two - at least from McCoy's side, Kelly has never said anything negative about McCoy, at least publicly - seems to have subsided.
"Every situation is different," McCoy said Tuesday, when asked while appearing on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access" what he'd tell Niners players about their new boss. "The one thing I will say about Chip is that he wants to win. He's very, very intelligent. The offense, they'll find ways to get the big numbers. They'll find ways to put the stats up offensively. With him coming in there, no matter how good of a player or low player you are, if you just automatically believe him -- no matter if it sounds crazy, you're like what is he talking about -- if you just automatically believe and buy in, I think you'll be fine."
If that's pretty surprising to you, you're probably not alone. McCoy is the one who refused to shake Kelly's hand when the Bills faced the Eagles this season and he's the one who said Kelly had "gotten rid of all the good black players" in Philly after Kelly dropped DeSean Jackson, Brandon Boykin, McCoy and Jeremy Maclin.
Of course, McCoy put up stellar numbers playing for Kelly, surpassing 1,300 yards each of his two seasons under the mercurial head coach. This year under Rex Ryan, McCoy struggled with injuries and managed just 895 yards in 12 games of work.
McCoy did reiterate what has already been said repeatedly of Kelly since he entered the league - that he monitors his players in a way that other coaches, meaning coaches like Ryan specifically, simply don't, but still, McCoy sounds less like the jealous ex these days and more like a guy willing to forgive and forget.
Maybe enough time has passing since his shocking trade to Buffalo. Or maybe a season outside of Kelly's system made him yearn for those halcyon days of spread formations and wide open running lanes.
Who knows? But we're willing to bet that if you ask DeMarco Murray about what Niners players should expect from Chip you're probably going to get a different answer altogether.
