(soft piano music)
- [Narrator] Chip Kelly and LeSean McCoy
love to go fast.
So much so that they shifted their relationship
into top gear and sped from bliss to beef
quicker than you can say, personalized smoothie.
(dramatic music)
In 2013, after years of success
at Oregon with college football's fastest offense,
Chip Kelly cannonballed into the NFL.
His impact had already been felt by the league.
He'd convinced Bill Belichick to speed things up,
which helped the 2012 Patriots
become the third highest scoring offense ever.
So naturally teams wanted the speed
straight from the source.
One interested party in particular
already knew how to go fast.
The 2012 Philadelphia Eagles
ran the sixth most plays in the league.
They also won just four games,
which sealed Andy Reid's fate.
But despite the down year,
this Eagles squad had some nice pieces,
two starting caliber quarterbacks,
the speediest receiver in the league,
some extremely impressive youngsters on defense.
And most importantly,
one of the NFLs best running backs.
Already a superstar as he entered his prime,
LeSean McCoy could break ankles
on people watching from home.
Paired with DeSean Jackson and a 33-year old Michael Vick,
who could still burn defenders,
it made sense that Kelly and the organization
were drawn together,
but for owner Jeffrey Lurie,
the hire represented something bigger.
He had searched for someone offering
more than just a scheme.
A head coach who could lead the right way
and not need to play the role of a salesman,
getting players to buy into something.
So to Lurie,
that's what Philadelphia got with Chip.
The offense was just a bonus.
Now Chip did bring some,
let's say unique ideas to Philly.
There were smoothies
personalized to fit each player's needs.
He encouraged hydration through piss tests
and a leaderboard
then tracked sleep schedules
in an equally non-intrusive way.
But piss and sleep are just part of an innovator's toolbox.
And the guy who would be shouldering the offensive load,
he got it.
McCoy's spoke glowingly about Chip's swagger,
being a perfect fit for the team
and said they chatted regularly.
It was a solid start.
For Chip,
getting that enthusiasm from such an important piece
made his life just a bit easier.
The head coach even enjoyed McCoy's playfulness at practice,
or that's how I'm reading into this comparison.
As the 2013 season began,
it only strengthened their relationship.
It started like a dream
with a record setting first half
in week one of the Chip Kelly era.
From there though,
Philly struggled to find their way
and sat at three-and-five at mid-season.
That's important for us,
because as the wheels threatened to fall off,
disagreements didn't send our stars over the edge.
Kelly even apologized in front of the whole team
after a sideline spat.
A shared ambition,
helped their connection.
And in order for Kelly to be the best,
he'd need to help McCoy do the same.
So when the Eagles went on a tear,
won seven of their final eight to take the division,
Shady paved the way.
And Kelly's system,
he led the league in rushing
and went over 2100 yards from scrimmage.
But for McCoy,
all credit went to the system
and the mastermind behind it.
A last second loss to the Saints
on Wildcard Weekend surely stung,
but it couldn't distract from an impressive first season.
Chip sounded proud of what the Eagles had accomplished.
He also credited the players for being a good bunch
who wanted to be coached.
While that blanket statement
looked to cover the whole team,
some had made Chip's life, not so easy
which offered a marinade for our beef.
A report came out in March 2014,
that the Eagles had concerns about DeSean Jackson
from those he associated with,
to him missing meetings,
basically enough of a notice
to make his release the next day appear justified.
From there more talk emerged about Kelly and Jackson
butting heads in the locker room.
The buzzword became culture.
Jackson didn't fit the culture that Chip had built.
He didn't buy into the program.
The release served as a major message
considering how great Jackson played in 2013.
When players didn't speak out,
people use that as proof
that Jackson had rubbed teammates the wrong way.
Then again,
they had just watched their teammate
get cut after a Pro Bowl season.
McCoy did his best to spin that part of it as a positive,
a reminder to the team that if you want to be safe,
you better trust Chip.
But at the same time
it contrasted with what happened
to another Eagles receiver earlier in the Chip era.
In August 2013 when a video came out
of Riley Cooper using a racial slur,
he got a talking to, apologized to the team,
received a fine,
and that was that.
The impact on the locker room
understandably came into question
and one anonymous player even pointed out
that under previous coaches,
there's no way Cooper would have just been fine.
Now these situations varied for sure,
but they're both important to keep in mind for our beef.
Especially considering Jackson's side of things.
He felt like the Eagles not only put together
a smear campaign against him,
but didn't even tell him the real reasons for his release.
If that move changed things for our stars,
they didn't show it.
Ahead of the 2014 season,
an entire interview with McCoy and ESPN
the Magazine focused on how LeSean
bought into Chip's system.
He talked about being hesitant
when Kelly brought a college vibe
to the team's arrival to their first game together,
yet it fed into the feeling of a football revolution.
He talked about how playful their relationship became
specifically a time McCoy slapped Kelly's ass,
only for Chip to ask if Shady hurt his hand
on that tight butt.
McCoy made it extremely clear.
The pair built a great relationship
and he loved playing for Kelly.
Year two wasn't quite as kind to the Eagles though.
Teams could key in, on McCoy more easily.
And by his standards, he struggled.
Although he still had a solid year
that left him as the Eagles all-time leading rusher.
But the mentality that drove them in year one,
threatened them early a season later.
Players said they were worn out going into the games
after an intense week of practice.
A concept McCoy didn't disagree with.
At one point after a somewhat confused
fourth-quarter benching,
McCoy alluded to having said something
he should've kept to himself,
but left it at that.
Philly still managed a 10-and-6 record,
but this time around that didn't include playoffs.
And once the year ended earlier than Philly had hoped,
Shady found himself in an interesting spot.
His contract had three years remaining,
but with nearly $10-million due in 2015,
McCoy knew they'd need to sort that out.
Something he actually sounded eager to do.
He just wanted to stay with a team that he loved
with all the people he had great relationships with.
And while he knew it was a business,
McCoy felt confident things would work out,
or not.
After nearly 3000 yards rushing in two years with Chip,
Shady found himself playing football
outside of Pennsylvania for the first time in his life.
Had it not been for Jackson's release the year before,
maybe this would have felt more shocking.
Instead it represented the new norm under Kelly.
While Chip combed the roster with a sledgehammer,
McCoy sounded off.
In an ESPN interview,
Shady changed tunes and described their relationship
as never being great,
in part because of how Kelly needed to control things.
But the most discussed quote,
McCoy said Kelly got rid of all the good players,
specifically the good Black players.
The idea had been brought up by others
like Stephen A. Smith
with the crux of the accusation being
the way Kelly handled Cooper's situation
compared to Jackson's or McCoy's.
When asked to respond,
the Eagles weren't touching that one.
Aside from that quote though,
Shady repeatedly said he was moving on
and he had nothing negative to say,
or maybe just nothing to say,
considering he dodged Chips's phone calls
and shut down reporters who brought up his former coach.
Shady's actions said plenty though.
Because the schedule gods were kind
the Bills and Eagles faced off in December
and McCoy made it clear how much the game meant to him.
He had the rest of his team wanting to win for him.
Kelly saw the game as a chance to talk it out.
He tried calling again, this time from a new number,
but once Chip identified himself, McCoy hung up.
LeSean's response to that call,
"Kelly can't say shit."
Chip said he'd love to be able to shake McCoy's hand.
LeSean's response to that,
"Kelly can't shake shit."
But that response,
actually helped us learn what was really going on.
Kelly didn't downplay it.
He admitted to not doing right by McCoy.
Chip explained how the trade went down
and how it prevented him from calling LeSean
before he found out through other sources.
The animosity made a bit more sense.
And while McCoy still referred to Kelly as a genius,
it also explained why Shady may have felt disrespected
after all he'd done for the franchise.
Their showdown though,
definitely didn't help any feelings.
McCoy displayed his thoughts
by launching his helmet in the tunnel after the game,
which summed up what LeSean had no words for.
But while McCoy had a rough night,
Kelly's season had been worse.
After winning just six games,
the Eagles relieved Chip of his coaching duties
before week 17.
When Lurie spoke about the qualities
their next coach needed,
it said volumes about the way Kelly had run the team.
He had a system,
he focused on sleep and smoothies and conditioning.
And if you disagreed,
that went against his culture.
With Kelly out of Philadelphia,
the beef seemed to cool.
McCoy didn't necessarily bash him
when describing Chip's style,
but made it clear that life would be easier for players
if they just bought in.
Kelly went on to coach the Niners
and the pair met once again
with McCoy telling reporters
that the beef was way behind him.
He then played a major part in steamrolling San Francisco,
which left him sounding a little more cheery
than after your average mid-season victory.
From there,
there were some occasional jabs
like when McCoy went on the NFL network
and talked about how he had zero issues with Philadelphia
once Kelly was back coaching in college.
But to Chip's credit,
he continued to express regret
over how the trade went down
and wished he could have done right by Shady.
Sometimes that's just how the beef crumbles.
Chip had tons of success at Oregon.
But when he looked to bring that to Philadelphia,
it also came with a mentality
that over time didn't work with pro players,
then to keep the mentality alive,
those who disagreed were sent packing,
no matter how much they'd done for the team.
And with how much McCoy had done,
he expected a little better treatment.
Their relationship wasn't necessarily abnormal
for a coach and player.
And individually,
they seemed to want all the same things,
but while those similarities helped bring them together,
It also made for a trickier split.
(air whooshing)
(upbeat piano music)
Hey, thanks for checking out this beef.
Since you're obviously still here,
I think you'd enjoy the T.O versus McNabb episode as well.
Or if you're an Eagles fan,
here's a Rewinder of Romo's bobbled snap.
Don't forget to join us over at Secret Base,
subscribe to our YouTube
and we'll see you soon.
(soft piano music)