McCoy on Chip: 'We ain't shakin' no hands'

CHIP KELLY doesn't seem to be getting a lot of love from high-profile running backs.

Kelly spent most of his news conference Wednesday trying to explain away the ESPN story about DeMarco Murray sharing his frustrations over his role in Kelly's offense with team chairman Jeffrey Lurie on the flight home from the team's biggest win of the season, Sunday at New England.

Then, on a conference call with Philadelphia-area media, LeSean McCoy was asked about Kelly's assertion that he would probably shake hands with McCoy when he saw the Eagles' all-time rushing leader before Sunday's game at Lincoln Financial Field.

"Naahh. He knows that ain't going to happen," McCoy said. "Y'all know that ain't going to happen. We ain't shakin' no hands."

Why not?

"What for? What we shaking hands for? We don't have nothing to shake hands for. There's some dudes I played with, I'm going to shake their hands. Lurie - probably going to talk to Lurie a little bit. Couple different coaches. A lot of players over there I'm still tight with. I'm gonna give Duce (Staley, the running backs coach) a big hug."

Kelly made his "handshake" statement during the coach's conference call Wednesday morning with Buffalo-area media. Asked about it by those reporters, before the Philadelphia conference call, McCoy asserted that "Chip ain't shaking (bleep)."

And yet, McCoy again insisted that he had nothing against Kelly, was OK with the man who traded him to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso - although McCoy repeated that he doesn't regret implying that the coach is a racist in an interview last spring. Asked about this apparent contradiction, McCoy said it was possible to be OK with someone and still not want to shake their hand. Then he ended the conference call.

Before that, McCoy recounted again how surprised he was to be traded, and said that, given his close relationship with Lurie, "I just thought there could have been better communication."

Asked how Kelly differs from Bills coach Rex Ryan, McCoy said: "They're way different. Way, way different . . . I think it's the small things. Rex is more worried about playing football. The way you wear your hat or the way you wear your jeans, or the different socks you wear, he don't care about that. As long as a player does his job, he don't care about that type stuff. He wants to win games. The rules for the team are to play with respect and to constantly play for the logo on the helmet. And that's all he cares about.

"Chip, a lot of things matter to him besides playing ball. Every coach is different."

On Ryan's Philadelphia conference call, he was asked whether he would make McCoy a captain against his former team.

"I dunno. You guys figure it out," Ryan said. "Anybody with a certain connection to the (other team's city is made a captain for the game). It seems like everybody wants to make a big deal of it. I don't think it's that big a deal."

Ryan said he "thought the world" of Alonso.

"I never wanted to let him go, but when it came (to Alonso) for LeSean McCoy, absolutely . . . Yep, we'll take him. Because I think LeSean McCoy . . . I knew we needed a running back. He's a dynamic player. That's no disrespect at all for Kiko Alonso, but that's all the respect in the world for LeSean McCoy."

McCoy said he doesn't know how he'll be received Sunday.

"You guys know how the Philly fans are . . . I'm cool however it goes. I know how they are. We'll see. It's not like I asked to leave or anything," he said.

Asked what he thinks about when he thinks of his time here, McCoy said: "The fans, they were excellent. I played with some great players, I learned from some great players. Coach (Andy) Reid was the man. And even Chip - Chip showed me a lot. He's smart, he's really smart . . . And then there's the city . . . I had a blast in Philadelphia."

Defensive lineman Bennie Logan (knee) was the only nonparticipant in practice, though running back Ryan Mathews (groin, concussion) was listed as limited as the team works him back into the flow . . . Safety Malcolm Jenkins was named NFC defensive player of the week, after returning a Tom Brady interception 99 yards for a touchdown . . . Defensive lineman Fletcher Cox is the Eagles' Ed Block Courage Award winner . . . Chip Kelly said wide receiver Miles Austin was released because the Eagles really wanted to get outside linebacker Steven Means on the roster, looking ahead, and the team has plenty of wideouts.

Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian