The San Francisco 49ers will formally introduce Chip Kelly as their new head coach in a Wednesday press conference, and it is safe to say questions will cover a broad range of topics. One area that will certainly be discussed is the reported turmoil Kelly had in the locker room.
The most notable example was his relationship with running back LeSean McCoy. The Eagles traded McCoy in a move that stunned a lot of Eagles fans, as well as Eagles players. There were plenty of reports about McCoy, Kelly, and problems in the locker room, and so it is always interesting to consider what McCoy might have to say about his former coach.
McCoy made an appearance on NFL Network on Tuesday, and he had a chance to discuss his recent season in Buffalo, and the differences between Rex Ryan and Chip Kelly (video). Here's a transcript of the segment where he discusses Chip Kelly.
On Rex Ryan vs. Chip Kelly:
Rex is a lot more laid back. He's been with teams where the veterans, the leaders kind of lead the team. There's guys that put players in position to be more accountable. Andy Reid was like that. You gotta be accountable. This league is a blessing to be in, but if you're not accountable, you're not here for long.
I think Chip Kelly is a coach that's more hands-on. There's not really a lot of leaders on the team, he's more the leader, the guy that's kind of setting the rules.
Not a players' team:
Right. Just like, his thing is from how you approach the game. He's monitored everything. We're kind of, Rex is more like, OK, big game against whichever team, you know how important this game is, I shouldn't have to tell you to study, I shouldn't have to get in your playbook, I shouldn't have to tell you all type of things. You shouldn't be out late, you should already be mentally focused for this game. Chip's more on you. He has the thing with the sleep, how you're sleeping, different things. They're obviously a lot different.
On if it's about one coach treating them like men, and another being more of a parent:
Well, however you look it. If you look at it as a parent, you can do that. But I think Rex definitely has that NFL, guys be men, be veterans. But also, to his credit, he's played and coached with guys like Ray Lewis, you look at Scott, and all different players that were veterans, like Revis, and them guys that are leaders. You kind of let the leaders, the veterans lead. Then you have your troops, your soldiers that follow. I think with Chip, he's kind of the opposite. He's the guy that dictates how everything's supposed to go, and pushes everything out from there.
Tips, suggestions for 49ers players:
Every situation's different. The one thing I will say about Chip is that he wants to win. He's very intelligent, the offense, they'll find ways to get the big numbers, they'll find ways to put the stats up, offensively. You just gotta, with him, coming in there, no matter how good of a player, or how low of a player you are, if you just automatically believe him, no matter if it sounds crazy, like, "what the heck is he talking about?", if you just automatically believe, and buy in, I think you'll be fine.
On where it went wrong:
I guess, he thought it would be better if DeMarco was there. That's how the trade went. I can't really answer that question, you know, how he felt, but at the end of the day, we all know the results. He got rid of me, and got him. He felt like that was best for the offense, so that's how that went.